By: Sean Crose
Undefeated rider Shakur Stevenson clinched a top-ranked ESPN tag on Saturday night, as he placed his WBO lightweight title ahead of fellow lightweight racer and WBC lightweight player Oscar Valdez (also in the running). championship belt). The match was scheduled to last twelve innings and take place at the MGM Grand in Vegas.
Stevenson begins his south seesaw for the first time. Stevenson continued to start putting his punches together in the second season. However, Valdez was able to land on the body. Valdez then comes to life in the third installment, landing directly on Stevenson’s head. Stevenson was able to regain control in the fourth installment, largely keeping his men active.
Valdez had his moments in the fifth inning, but Stevenson had better shots. A slip caused Valdez to lose his balance in the sixth round. Shakur took advantage of the moment and quickly set Valdez down on the carpet. Stevenson became quite aggressive after Valdez stood up. In fact, he seems to be aiming to finish off his elder from a distance.
By the seventh minute, it was clear that, no matter how good, Valdez was knocked out by Stevenson. Valdez certainly had his moments, but they were too few and too far away. The eighth saw Stevenson use range effectively to keep his men away and land effectively on his own. In the end, however, Stevenson’s stab told the story of the match.
Valdez landed well after nine minutes, but Stevenson landed better. It’s worth wondering if Valdez can show up until the final bell rings. Valdez kept going forward in the tenth, but it remained the same. Perhaps more head movement would help, but Stevenson is so domineering at that point, it’s hard to imagine Valdez finding a way to beat him beyond a lucky punch.
The eleventh round essentially showed Valdez was keen to improve his man, and Stevenson kept him with clean jabs, footwork and punches. This has to be given to Valdez – he kept coming, even in the final round. Simply put, that man wasn’t good enough to be the best Stevenson. That was something the umpires were well aware of, as they rewarded Stevenson with a decisive win.
