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Shakur Stevenson's nationality is American, but he does have a Puerto Rican side that he connects with.
'Sugar' has been out of action since a knockout win over Shuichiro Yoshino in April. That was the former champion's first bout up at lightweight but will be far from the last. The former Olympian is now slated to return opposite Edwin De Los Santos later today on ESPN.
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On fight night, some fans might see Shakur Stevenson with a Puerto Rico flag. That's not entirely out of the norm for the former featherweight champion, and for good reason. While many might not know it, he is half Puerto Rican.
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He revealed the news on social media a few years ago but hasn't opened up much about his heritage. While he connects with his father's side of the family, he still represents America. Obviously, he fought for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Beyond carrying the flag for Puerto Rico, he doesn't represent the island often. However, that doesn't mean that he doesn't care about the island.
Shakur Stevenson opens up on his Puerto Rican heritage
Shakur Stevenson's nationality is important to him, but he sadly hasn't gotten to connect with his Puerto Rican side much.
While he hasn't discussed his heritage much, 'Sugar' was asked about Puerto Rico in an interview with Tha Boxing Voice. In the interview, they joked that Stevenson was the greatest boxer ever to come out of the island.
However, the boxer also stated that he wasn't close with his father, who was Puerto Rican. Stevenson's dad has now passed away, but the boxer has remained in touch with that side of the family. Notably, he has a brother and sister who he's close with.
Furthermore, that side of his dad's family continues to support him in his fighting career to this day. In the interview, Shakur Stevenson revealed:
"Yeah my father is Puerto Rican but he's dead now. I didn't get to really connect with him on that type of level, he wasn't really in my life. But, you know, I've got a Puerto Rican brother and sister, they'll be at [my fights] too."
See his comments in the video below (2:00)
