If there is any bad blood between undefeated 130-pound champions Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdes, it stems from Stevenson’s belief that he has long been shunned by the man he will face in Saturday’s MGM Grand reunion in Las Vegas.
Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs), a former semi-lightweight title holder who was once a mandatory contender for Valdes with 126 pounds, believes Valdes has moved only to the junior lightweight category to avoid it. And even after Valdes upset longtime WBC champion Miguel Berchelt in the 2021 knockout of the year, Stevenson believes Valdes tried everything he could to avoid having to cross paths with him.
The 24-year-old left-hander, who grabbed a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, even went so far as to feel that Top Rank, which encourages both fighters, was more interested in first leveling Valdes against WBO welterweight champion Emanuel Navarrete, who is considering weight gain.
“I tell the truth every time,” Stevenson told a recent news conference on Thursday. “I have a feeling he didn’t want to fight me at 126. We’re here at 130 now. He was trying to fight Navarrete before he fought me. But we are here now. We cannot keep talking about this.
“The fight is on Saturday and I’m ready to fight.”
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For the record, Valdes (30-0, 23 KOs) denied even mentioning that he hoped to escape Stevenson, who was compared to the young Floyd Mayweather after beating the race on the way to two world titles in so many divisions.
Valdes, a native of Nogales, Mexico, was the headliner of a Top Rank card that doubled as Stevenson’s professional debut in 2017, and said he was preparing for a possible professional match against him since he first saw Stevenson in the amateurs.
“Just like in this match, I was very focused on the battle I had in front of me,” Valdes said the night he defended his WBO welterweight title four years ago against Miguel Mariaga. “I knew about Shakur Stevenson. I saw him at the Olympics. He was a great fighter then, and now he’s become a great champion.”
Like Stevenson, the 31-year-old Valdes also had an embellished amateur career and represented Mexico at the 2012 Olympics. He also won world titles of 126 and 130 pounds, but enters this battle fresh after a turbulent year of ups and downs. .
Valdes started 2021, exceeding all expectations in his upset knockout of Berchelt, which was seen as a triumph largely over how influential was longtime coach of the year Eddie Reynoso, who helped Valdes sharpen his technique to combined with his trademark toughness and aggression. But just as Valdes seemed to be approaching as a possible pound-for-pound talent, a controversy soon followed.
Before returning in September against the undefeated Robson Conseikao, Valdes tested positive for a banned substance, but was still allowed to fight. Negative headlines seemed to distract Valdez as he struggled to win with a close decision.
Although Valdes remains adamant that the positive test is caused by the consumption of herbal tea, Stevenson has not forgotten and has gone so far as to remind Valdes to “make sure you are not cheating” during all public events. involving the two champions during the week of wrestling.
“He’s the type of fighter who talks a lot and always talks,” Valdes said. “I am not like that. I let my fists speak. He is the type of fighter who does not want to go to war. I’m the type of fighter who always wants to give the fans what they want. he does not want to give the fans what they want, it will be more of a chess match. It will be more of a technical fight.
“The smartest fighter in the ring will win.”
Both fighters welcomed elite talent to help them prepare, as Valdes worked at the same camp as Canello Alvarez before his return in May, and Stevenson welcomed “big brother” Terence Crawford to the quality sparring camp.
Although it is clear that Valdes believes in his chances, the people who set the chances do not agree. Stevenson, who achieved the most outstanding performance of his career, stopping WBO champion Jamel Herring last October, was named a huge favorite in 8-1 betting.
“The odds are against me and everyone thinks he will pass me by,” Valdes said. “But just like against Berchelt, I will use this as motivation. I know I have a tough battle ahead of me, but it’s not something I haven’t done before. As we say in Mexico, I am ready to die online just to win. That’s all that matters to me. ”
As expected, the cheeky Stevenson lacks the confidence to enter his worst ordeal to date.
“The world has not yet seen everything that Shakur Stevenson can do in the boxing ring,” Stevenson said. “I am the next superstar of boxing and my performance [on Saturday] will prove it. “
Before we get to Stevenson vs. Valdes, a pair of prospects get a chance to shine again in the undercard. Former Olympic silver medalist Caison Davis faces Esteban Sanchez in the lightweight division. Davis, 23, won his medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games and scored 4-0 by three knockouts since becoming a pro in February 2021. Plus, Nico Ali Walsh, Mohammed Ali’s grandson, is making his fifth appearance in the ring. when taking for Alejandro Ibara in the middleweight division. Ali Walsh, 21, became a professional in August 2021 and also has three knockouts in four professional fights.
Below is the full battle for Saturday night on ESPN along with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook, before we get to the forecast and expert choice for the main event.
Fight card, odds
- Shakur Stevenson (c) -800 vs. Oscar Valdes (c) +550, lightweight junior group
- Caison Davis -1300 against Esteban Sanchez +800, light
- Nico Ali Walsh -1500 against Alejandro Ibara +850, middle category
View information
- Date: April 30 Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas
- Start time: 22:00 ET
- TV channel: ESPN Live Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Forecast
Valdes is talented and flexible enough to make this, at least on paper, a potentially interesting style match. But make no mistake, if Valdes is unable to slow down and discipline the extremely fast Stevenson, this also has the potential to be a surgical dissection.
Comparisons to young Mayweather, especially the version of The Good Boy from the turn of the century, seem appropriate for Stevenson. He’s not a big hit, but the speed and accuracy of his combinations have proved deadly.
If Valdez has trouble coping with that speed and fails to determine Stevenson’s timing, similar to how Marquez learned to hit Pacquiao during their four-match rivalry, the likelihood of cuts and sustained damage is likely. Luckily for Valdes, he has shown tremendous impact resistance in the past, battling a broken jaw to outlive Scott Quig in their 2018 lightweight thriller thriller.
The biggest problem for Valdes, however, is that he may have already shown how great he can be by boosting his game against Berchelt. And even that version probably won’t be enough to beat Stevenson if the Newark-born, Jersey-born, continues to raise his performance to the level he has every time the quality of his competition improves.
It’s easy to compare to 23-year-old Mayweather, who faces up against his undefeated (and massive punch) counterpart Diego Corales in their own 130-pound title fight in 2001. Five knockdowns after Corales threw the towel to end one side in the 10th round, Mayweather had established himself as a leading P4P threat.
Expect Stevenson to do the same.
Choice: Stevenson via TKO11
Who wins Stevenson against Valdes? And which props are required? Visit SportsLine now to see Brandon Wise’s best bets on Saturday, all from the CBS martial arts specialist who broke his boxing election in 2021, and find out.
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