By: Sean Crose
Shakur Stevenson may not have been belted when he stepped into the ring at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Friday night, but the 18-0 boxer certainly had his hometown crowd behind him. Stevenson, who originally hailed from Newark, lost his WBO and WBC lightweight titles on Thursday. However, that doesn’t mean his opponent, 17-1, former gold medalist Robson Conceicao, is still ineligible for those belts. If Conceicao defeats favorite Stevenson, he will not only become a world player, but he will probably have overcome the biggest sadness of the year. The scheduled 12th round match is the main event of a match broadcast live on ESPN.
First, however, there was an eight-round lightweight match between Omar Tienda 25-5 and the famous former silver medalist, 5-0 Keyshawn Davis. The first round was quite competitive, but Davis started combining his punches early in the second round. By the third installment, there was no doubt Davis was in full control, making eye contact and maintaining distance with ease. Tienda, perhaps frustrated, actually threw Davis to the carpet in the fourth inning. This action did nothing to stem the tide of the war.
A single sharp right brought Tienda down in the fifth round. Tienda rose up, but the war was over. A series of blows from Davis caused the referee to stop the game afterwards.
It’s time for the main event. The opening two halves of Stevenson – Conceicao were fast but inaccurate. Conceicao shot while Stevenson managed to maintain range and land effectively. The two men punched each other in the third round. Stevenson is clearly the stronger of the two, but Conceicao has the better shots. Both men are in the leather goods business in fourth place. Conceicao was eventually knocked out by a shot at the end of the half. However, he beat the count and was able to get back to his corner.
Although Conceicao was still hard at work in the fight, it was Stevenson who delivered the crisp body shots in the fifth round. However, Conceicao continued to swing. In the middle of a fight, it’s hard not to admire the guy. It was clear that he was being beaten up at the moment, but he was prepared to strike with his sword. However, Conceicao returned to his corner late in the seventh inning bruised, battered and utterly defeated. It is worth asking how long the war should continue.
Though the fight continued for the next several innings, which began to seem as brutal as his performance, Stevenson actually might not have been able to stop his man in the distance. This created a frustrating atmosphere for the war. Basically, Conceicao can’t win, but he can’t be knocked down either. It is clear that upon witnessing, the violence perpetrated by Stevenson begins to seem mundane. Most of.
The irony is that, with a little more power, Conceicao will most likely join the fight. However, Conceicao clearly didn’t have that kind of power, so he simply tried his best while Stevenson controlled the match. Championship rounds offer much of the same. Stevenson punched his man, while Conceicao continued to throw ineffective punches. With a confused face, but with great determination, Conceicao fought desperately to reach the final bell.
The judges did their job – rewarded Stevenson with a decisive unanimous victory.
