Shakur Stevenson added the WBC ultralightweight title to his WBO belt with a unanimous decision victory over Oscar Valdez in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
New unified champion Stevenson, who built confidence ahead of the game, used his superior skill set to overtake and dethrone previously undefeated 130lbs WBC belt holder Valdez at The MGM Grand. Scorecard is 117-110 and 118-109 twice.
Valdez struggled to find any success in the opening exchanges, with Stevenson forcing the Mexican to lose his balance twice in a rather comfortable first half for the 24-year-old.
With Valdez working his way inside, Stevenson caught up to his fellow 130lbs champion with a couple of notable left-handed headers and torsos in the third round.
Despite achieving moderate success with his right hand in the fifth inning, Valdez found his momentum getting killed a half later when Stevenson scored the knockdown in the sixth inning.
Valdez managed to get through the rest of the round, before getting off to a positive start in the seventh. Stevenson, however, continued to prove too elusive, eliminating his Mexican foe with multiple punches midway through the ninth round.
Stevenson went on to beat Valdez in the final two innings, with the crowd supporting Valdez agitated by the fanfare of the Newark native as the clocks ticked down. Valdez, frustrated, struggled to land on his American foe as their duel ended.
