Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez will battle Saturday night in Las Vegas for featherweight supremacy in a unified world title showdown that is sure to quicken the fray. Luke G. Williams previews the action…
The featherweight superclass isn’t too heavy on talent, but Saturday night’s clash at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas between WBO belt holder Shakur Stevenson (17-0.9 KOs) and WBC champion Oscar Valdez ( 30-0.23 KOs) is by far the most meaningful contest the 130lbs division has been able to muster.
It’s time for the featherweight superclass to be given a meaningful fight. There hasn’t been a unified champion in the division since 2005 – when Marco Antonio Barrera briefly held the IBF crown in addition to his WBC championship – and the last time he competed for the Ring magazine title at 130lbs was when Manny Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in the duo’s second fight in 2008.
24-year-old Stevenson – who won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics – entered the match that Boxing Social considers the world’s number two featherweight superweight, but is one of the region’s most popular low-level players. 3/14 with some bookies, while the number one Boxing Social 130lb-er Valdez is available at prices as wide as 6-1.
This is understandable in many respects, as Stevenson has long been considered one of boxing’s next major figures. Last October – in what appeared to be a remarkable breakout performance – Stevenson impressively dominated and then stopped Jamel Herring for ten innings to claim Semper Fi’s WBO world title.
Simply put, Stevenson seems to be the perfect person, possessing star quality, charisma and abundant talent. The Newark-born Nampaw is incredibly fast, and excels in both defense and the arts of counterattacks.
Having fought at the Olympics in bantamweight and having previously held – if only briefly – the WBO featherweight title, he seems to be getting stronger and stronger as he matures and develops. , although the power of a truly shocking punch seems to be perhaps his only courtesy. lack.
In his pre-fight rhetoric, Stevenson displayed typical confidence, at the same time as arrogance. “This war has been going on for three years,” he said. “Everybody knows that I have wanted to fight Oscar Valdez since 2019 when he vacated the belt at 126th place. [featherweight] instead of against me. He avoids me for as long as possible, but now is the perfect time for this fight and fans are waiting for a show when we finally enter the ring.
“I am the best 130lbs boxer in the world, and I will prove it when I beat Oscar Valdez and become the unified champion. However, I will not stop there. I want to be the undisputed champion at 130, and beating Oscar Valdez is the next step. The world has yet to witness everything that Shakur Stevenson can do in the boxing ring. I am the next superstar of boxing, and my performance on April 30 will prove it.”
However, Valdez will not push. He’s undefeated as a pro and has a good amateur in himself; he is Mexico’s first amateur world championship medalist (won bronze in 2009 in Milan) also a two-time Olympic athlete, fought at the 2008 Olympics at the age of 17 and also represented represented his country at matches in London in 2012.
Valdez was also in form before going into a big fight as the underdog. Last February there was little chance for him to beat compatriot Miguel Berchelt, but Valdez upended the odds with a brutal tenth round kick.
Could he be starting to get upset with Stevenson again? Probably. The key to the outcome of the fight will be whether the Mexican han puts enough pressure on Stevenson to upset him, and whether he can hit him enough times on the head and torso to force must stop or accumulate enough points to make a decision or not.
True to his warrior credentials, Valdez was talking about a good fight. “Although I had a very difficult challenge against Miguel Berchelt, it was the hardest and biggest match of my career because Shakur has been talking for quite some time,” he said.
“We started again. The odds are against me, and everyone thinks he’s going to beat me, but just like against Berchelt, I’ll take that as motivation. I know I have an uphill battle ahead of me, but this is not something I haven’t done before. I’ve been working really hard in the gym, and as always, I’m going to give it my all and let it all be in the ring. Like we say in Mexico, I’m willing to die on the pitch just to win. That’s all that matters to me.
“He [Stevenson] I’m the type of boxer who talks a lot and is always talking on social media, but I’m not like that. I let my fists speak. He’s the kind of warrior who isn’t ready for battle. I’m the type of fighter who always wants to give the fans what they want. Since he is not willing to give the fans what they want, this will be more of a chess match. It will be a more technical fight. The smartest warrior inside the ring will win. For this kind of challenge, I prepared very well physically, but more importantly mentally.
“When I win this fight, I will be one step closer to being on the weight list, and more importantly, I will be one step closer to fulfilling my dream of being considered one of the best boxers. the best in Mexican boxing history. . I want my name to be among all these great Mexican warriors, like Morales, Barrera, Marquez and Chavez. For that to happen, I need to win this war.”
Stevenson showed some sensitivity to pressure tactics when he lost to Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in the 2016 Olympics final, but it was an extremely close fight and it was almost six years ago.
The American has matured and grown tremendously as a boxer since then and is also in extremely dominant form now, having barely lost a round since flipping in 2017.
Valdez is by far the best opponent Stevenson has faced so far, but judging by the win over Herring, he’s a real American and he’s the confident pick here to win, can adopt a clear point decision.
