WelshDevilRob Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) This Saturday, at MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, USA. Super Featherweight World title unification live on ESPN and SkySports. WBC champion Oscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) takes on WBO champion Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) and we get the experienced vs the heavily touted. Oscar Valdez: “He is the type of fighter that is not willing to go to war. I’m the type of fighter that 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.” Shakur Stevenson: “I am the best 130-pound fighter in the world, and I will prove it when I beat Oscar Valdez and become unified champion.” Who wins this one? Edited April 27, 2022 by WelshDevilRob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledhed1 Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 I've never bought into the Shakur hype. I think TopRank has matched him very "strategically" every step of the way. So if they have a master plan, what are they thinking will get Shakur past Valdez? Age and miles on the odometer? It worked in Shakur's last fight (Herring). Is Valdez compromised following the positive PED test even though he faced no consequences? Do they think Shakur can box circles around Valdez? They're both TopRank fighters so perhaps TR doesn't care who wins. Although I suspect they favor Shakur as an asset because they're running low on A-level marketable American stars following Teofimo's loss and Crawford's departure. Valdez isn't as old as Herring though he's been through his share of battles. He's stayed active, sharp and fresh with his post-lockdown schedule. He's a level above what Shakur's been prepared for based on his matchmaking. A step too far for Shakur. Valdez walks off with the two belts for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonRingRules Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 --- Valdez still in traditional prime years after having knocked out El Campion Grande being trained by the now legendary Reynosa boxing operation that AJ visited during his wanders vs another American woman beater/runner/stinker with flashy moves trained by the "who dat" Willie Moses with both fighters promoted by Top Rank. I'll take Valdez with Kid Shakur in full survival mode by his Lady Lara end. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cableaddict Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 (edited) I've never bought into the Shakur hype. I think TopRank has matched him very "strategically" every step of the way....... Well, if you start knocking top fighters for their resume's, you might as well find a new sport to follow. Nobody fights anybody these days. I don't think Stevenson's rep is hype. He looks the goods to me. Hard to say if his offense will overwhelm an elite opponent, since we've never had a chance to see that, but you can say the same thing about Valdez. (Save for the Berchelt win.) Stevenson has speed and incredibly good defense, and that is obvious even against his B+ level opposition. My gut says Valdez' aggression will get him the victory, and likely via hooks to the body, but one flaw Valdez has is that he never varies his timing. Everything is flat-out, all the time. Stevenson's defense and ring IQ could well be able to negate Valdez's offense because of this. (Unless we see a new version of Valdez.) This is a 50-50 fight IMO. Possibly FOTY. Edited April 29, 2022 by Cableaddict 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonRingRules Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 This is a 50-50 fight IMO. Possibly FOTY. --- Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano most likely the fight of the night. Shakur a woman beater not likely to be in any FOTY. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshDevilRob Posted April 30, 2022 Author Share Posted April 30, 2022 I've gone with Valdez - trust him more. I know what I'm getting from him. Be a quality win for Shakur. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cableaddict Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 (edited) Shakur a woman beater not likely to be in any FOTY. Shakur vs Katie Taylor could be interesting. Stevenson has been in some fairly boring fights, but that's just because his defense is so good, he often just plays it safe. Against his past opponents, that was possible, but Valdez won't let that happen. It's going to be a high action fight, and IMO the smart game plan for Stevenson is to fight powerful aggression with powerful aggression. - like he did against Nakatila, only with a bit more than that.) Can he do that? I can't wait for this one. Edited April 30, 2022 by Cableaddict 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonRingRules Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 --- No need for spoilers when you can see the results here where Stevie Wonder Thug has to rush out of the presser to go save his "mom" from a brawl outside the presser...only in boxing, folks!!! https://fightnews.com/shakur-stevenson-post-fight-presser/131433 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonRingRules Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 --- Calling on all Boxing Experts. What kind of punch is this? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledhed1 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 I'll freely admit when I'm wrong and give credit where it's due. Shakur's now 24. It's often said fighters don't gain their man strength or grow into their adult bodies until about age 23. Shakur's physical presence intimidated Valdez. Valdez was reluctant to attack which was his only path to victory. Shakur came from featherweight and didn't distinguish himself there. TopRank wouldn't let him. It speaks of where the boxing is at that a fighter can hold a world title while being brought along slowly. But this was Shakur's coming out party. He's not a runner; he stands where he needs to be to make his opponent feel his power while using his length to stay safe. At this point he's big for a superfeatherweight which is a division that does nothing for me. It's a made-up division created to put more belts into the marketplace. Shakur proves his greatness at lightweight where he projects pretty favorably. The only drawback for his marketability may be that he's not exactly becoming a crowd favorite. He was booed at the weigh-in and during the fight. But perhaps the villain angle can be used to drive PPV riches. There may be more parallels with Floyd than we realized. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshDevilRob Posted May 17, 2022 Author Share Posted May 17, 2022 --- Calling on all Boxing Experts. What kind of punch is this? [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tshakur-valdez-sumio37.jpg?w=333&h=224&ssl=1.jpg Views:\t12 Size:\t19.3 KB ID:\t992917","data-align":"center","data-attachmentid":"992917","data-size":"full","title":"shakur-valdez-sumio37.jpg?w=333&h=224&ssl=1.jpg"}[/ATTACH] An Emanuel Augustus/Emanuel Burton move. Pretty sure, he's done it. He was known as 'The Drunken Master' and had a cracking skill set. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamarclark09 Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Shakur Stevenson won this match, but I was hoping that Valdez would win. But Valdez lost to Stevenson. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoztheMadman Posted November 16, 2022 Share Posted November 16, 2022 If I was Berchelt, I'd sue Valdez for ruining my career. That hideous cheater... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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