LAS VEGAS - In a somewhat lackluster affair, Shakur Stevenson secured the vacant WBC lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena. Despite the victory, boos echoed throughout the arena as both fighters failed to make a significant impact in the fight.

The judges' scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 116-112 favored Stevenson, as neither boxer managed to land double-digit punches in any of the 12 rounds. De Los Santos' highest output was a mere nine punches in Round 10.

Interestingly, De Los Santos will go down in history as the fighter with the fewest punches landed in a 12-round bout in the 38-year existence of CompuBox. Throughout the fight, he connected on only 40 punches, with a meager 14 of them being power shots. On the other hand, Stevenson, who now holds titles in three different weight divisions, landed 19 power punches and 44 jabs.

"I had a bad performance tonight," admitted Stevenson, ESPN's No. 8 pound-for-pound boxer. "That's all I'm really focused on. I wasn't feeling too good, so I'll live with it. It's OK."

Stevenson revealed that he was already feeling unwell before the fight and had mentally prepared himself to adapt his strategy if needed. "I didn't feel good before the fight. Honestly, I had already told myself that if I feel like this in the ring and if it's not going well, I'm going to make sure that I box and get the victory."

Throughout the match, both Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) and De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) engaged in feints and long-range jabs, refusing to take the offensive. This cautious approach resulted in many fans leaving the arena before the final bell, frustrated by the lack of action.

De Los Santos, 24, expressed his disappointment with Stevenson's evasive tactics, stating, "We all know what happened. He came for a track meet. He didn't come to fight. I showed that I am on a higher level because he never stood and fought like he does with other fighters. I did my job. He came to survive. That's what he did. They gifted him the title, but I'm the people's champion."

Despite the underwhelming performance, Stevenson, a rising star in boxing, had notable names in his corner. The 26-year-old from Newark, New Jersey, had the support of Hall of Famer Andre Ward and pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford, who accompanied him to the ring.

Stevenson had previously won titles at 126 and 130 pounds, and his last victory was a sixth-round TKO of Shuichiro Yoshino in April. De Los Santos, on the other hand, entered the fight on the back of consecutive wins against Jose Valenzuela and Joseph Adorno, marking the two most significant victories in his career.

The vacant 135-pound title became available when Devin Haney signed to fight Regis Prograis for a 140-pound title on December 9 and was subsequently named the "champion in recess" by the WBC.