The Last Crescendo - Shakur Stevenson vs. Josh Padley: Full video highlights

Shakur Stevenson faced UK's Josh Padley to defend his WBC lightweight title on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard. The event took place on Feb. 22 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main card began at 11 am ET / 8 am PT.

Stevenson was originally scheduled to defend the title against Floyd Schofield Jr. However, Schofield Jr. was forced to pull out after getting hospitalized during the fight week. Padley, an undefeated boxer with an unblemished 15-0 record in professional boxing, stepped up for the challenge on a few days' notice.

While the fight marked a huge step up in competition for Padley, who had never fought for the title before, Stevenson had to deal with the risk of going up against a relatively unknown boxer.

In the fight, both men began cautiously. Stevenson landed some precise jabs, but Padley held his own, darting in and out of range with quick combinations. Stevenson, who clearly had the speed advantage, quickly figured out the distance and established an early lead.

Padley did fire back, but he was hit with some stinging shots in the closing seconds of Round 3, which left him on wobbly legs. Although he survived and continued to resist, Stevenson systematically broke him down with body shots, dominating the middle rounds.

Padley, who took the fight on short notice, was visibly fatigued by the halfway point but refused to go down, despite absorbing powerful strikes to both the head and the body. In Round 9, Stevenson knocked Padley down twice, but the Brit managed to get back up each time, continuing to fight back.

Stevenson maintained his relentless assault and dropped Padley for the third time with a barrage of body shots. While Padley tried to get back to his feet, his corner threw the towel to save him from absorbing further damage. Stevenson was declared the winner by TKO to retain the WBC lightweight title.

Check out the Shakur Stevenson vs. Josh Padley full video highlights below:

The fight begins

Stevenson lands a sleek combination in Round 2

Padley refuses to go down

Padley fires back

Shakur Stevenson knocks Josh Padley with a body shot in Round 9

Padley goes down again

Padley failed to answer the 10-count on time, suffering the first defeat of his professional boxing career against Stevenson: