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Stephan Shaw Is Ready for the Biggest Boxing Match of His Career | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2023

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click to enlarge Theo Welling Stephan Shaw trains with his coach and dad, Brian Shaw, in a St. Louis-area boxing gym in October.
Stephan Shaw has waited for, talked about and worked toward this moment since he was a kid, punching the walls of his St. Louis home. It’s what he dreamed of when he won boxing’s National Silver Gloves tournament as an amateur. It’s what kept him going during his darkest depressions and during his longest stretches away from the sport.Now he’s here: less than a week from a nationally televised fight on ESPN against Efe Ajagba, a 16-1 heavyweight-champion contender. For Shaw, 30, it is the biggest fight of his career.At 6 feet 4 inches, 235 pounds, Shaw, nicknamed “Big Shot,” is one of the best fighters from the St. Louis area with an 18-0 record, co-promoted by Top Rank and Lou DiBella. Shaw will fight Ajagba at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, on Saturday as the main card event, a first in his career.For Shaw, his boxing career has finally headed in the direction he wanted.“Just overnight,” he says, “my life is about to change.”But that has to feel like an enormous amount of pressure, right? Interviews left and right. Fighting on ESPN. Knowing that his career could skyrocket — or not — in less than an hour in a boxing ring. But Shaw doesn’t feel that way.“I love it, bro,” he says. “This is what I signed up for. And this is just all the kind of perks and stuff that I wanted, man. All of this kind of stuff comes with being one of the best fighters in the world. I’m right at home.” Shaw’s journey was highlighted in an October 19 RFT cover story. Raised in the St. Louis area, Shaw came from a prominent local boxing family. His father, Brian Shaw, boxed in the junior Olympics, and his grandfather, Winston “Buddy” Shaw, was a legendary coach at Cochran Recreation Center.
A natural from the start, Shaw won the National Silver Gloves Tournament twice by the time he was 10 before quitting boxing for six years. After graduating from Hazelwood Central High School and attending Harris-Stowe State University, he picked up where he left off, serving as an alternate for the 2012 national Olympic team and winning national boxing tournaments.Shaw made his professional debut in 2013 and hasn’t lost since, winning 13 fights by knockout and rising to the 28th-best heavyweight in the world along the way. He also received a job as the sparring partner for the former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.Despite the victories, Shaw’s career has been full of roadblocks, long layoffs, cancelled contracts and an overwhelming feeling that, regardless of his talent, his career has failed to progress fast enough. For years, he fought in empty gyms, made little money and contemplated quitting the sport.That’s what makes this moment so much more special — overcoming the hardship he has endured and finally receiving the money, recognition and respect that matches his skills.“It’s beautiful, bro,” Shaw says. “It’s something that I pray about. I feel like God answered my prayers. … When they asked me about this opportunity I jumped on it.”But Saturday won’t be an easy fight. Shaw will take on Ajagba, a 6-foot-6 powerful puncher from Nigeria who is currently ranked as the 32nd best heavyweight boxer in the world, according to BoxingRec. He will be the most formidable opponent of Shaw’s career. Ajagba, known as “The Silent Roller,” previously fought on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III, where he suffered his only loss.“You can’t take anybody for granted, and I’m not taking him for granted at all,” Shaw says. “But like I said before, I’m definitely gonna go in there defensively responsible and that’s how you’re supposed to be as a fighter. The art of boxing is to hit and not get hit. I try to master that.”Initially, Shaw was set to take on undefeated Italian heavyweight, Guido Vianello, while Ajagba fought current bridgerweight title holder, Óscar Rivas. But after Rivas backed out of the fight due to an eye injury, Shaw stepped in to fight Ajagba. In a sport where boxers avoid tougher matches for fear of losing, both Shaw and Ajagba were praised for taking a challenging, evenly matched contest.The last few months have been busy for Shaw as he prepared for the fight — a much-welcomed reprieve from the unwanted layoffs. His previous fight was in November when he defeated the former top-ranked, but aging Rydell Booker in a unanimous TKO. click to enlarge Theo Welling Stephan Shaw, surrounded by his grandfather, parents, wife and kids, continues to live in St. Louis, where his family is an integral part of his life.
Shaw still lives in St. Louis with his family, but for the past few weeks, he has stayed in San Diego, where he holds an intensive training camp with his trainer, Basher Abdullah. His exercise regime is full of various running, strength and boxing workouts per day. When Abdullah spoke to the RFT in the fall, he said he doesn’t know a heavyweight boxer who works harder than Shaw.One week before the fight, Shaw said he was slowing down camp to prepare mentally and physically. He’s trying to rest by watching YouTube videos and FaceTiming his wife.“I try to relax, man,” he says, “and just focus in on the task at hand, and not make too much out of it. … Just stay relaxed, stay composed and go in there and do my thing.”Shaw says he doesn’t feel nervous. When he steps into the ring on Saturday, with ESPN cameras staring him down, he says he will be channeling lessons that he learned by watching tapes of Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather.“This,” he says, “ain’t nothing but the gym.” Stephan Shaw will fight Efe Ajagba at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, on Saturday, January 14. The program will begin at 9 p.m. CST with other fights, but Shaw-Ajagba is expected to take place around 11 p.m. To watch the fight, visit ESPN+.This story has been updated.Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

10 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

10 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

10 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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