By: Hans Themistode
Shakur Stevenson is well aware of the golden opportunity that awaits him.
With Olympic silver medalist Oscar Valdez less than three weeks away from his WBC featherweight title, he sees their upcoming showdown as his actual party coming up. .
Currently, although Stevenson has only been playing professionally for about 5 years, he has become a world champion in many divisions. But, despite robbing those golden trinkets from some notable names, Stevenson believes he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
All that could change on April 30, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. In Stevenson’s mind, if he were to successfully deprive Valdez of his WBC title and become the division’s sole unified champion, he firmly believes he deserves a spot at the top of the list. everyone’s weight.
Stevenson told a group of reporters: “I would say five on the pound-for-pound list. “I just fought Jamel and I’m right back, fighting Oscar Valdez. I’m taking on tough competition. Oscar is undefeated, 30 and 0 with 23 kills. ”
As mentioned by Stevenson, the 24-year-old was last seen in the ring, handling Jamel Herring. Although he was considered the bigger man, Herring’s size advantage didn’t keep Stevenson away from him, as he went on to lose in the 10th round.
Not wanting to rest on his laurels, Stevenson immediately issued a challenge to Valdez, which the Mexican product quickly accepted. With the pair now set to unify 130-pound titles, Stevenson won’t take his upcoming opponent lightly.
Valdez not only won world titles at both 126 and 130 pounds, but he also produced some of the more remarkable performances in recent memory. In 2018, Valdez successfully defended his WBO featherweight title against Scott Quigg, despite breaking his jaw.
Most recently, Valdez had a near-perfect match against former king of the team, Miguel Berchelt. The Mexican-born beat his man for most of their February 2021 match, before ending the night roughly in the 10th round.
After watching Valdez up close and personal, Stevenson believes it’s unnecessary to downplay Valdez’s overall skills. Despite knowing it could be the toughest fight of his young career, Stevenson candidly explained why he was so nervous going up against the 130-pound fellow champion.
“It was not an easy fight for me but I am ready to accept the challenge. I love these kinds of challenges. These challenges wake me up every morning.”
