By Vince D’Writer: After weighing 1.6 pounds over the contracted weight limit and losing both his WBC and WBO super featherweight titles on the scale, Shakur Stevenson was able to salvage his homecoming event by displaying his superior skills from boxing, as he proceeded to dominate his opponent Robson Conceicao inside the ring en route to a unanimous decision win.
Despite the fact that Shakur Stevenson did not make the required weight, Robson Conceicao entered the fight very motivated, because if he could have found a way to get the upset victory, Conceicao would have left the ring with a great victory, and the WBC and WBO belts . The challenger got off to a decent start to the fight as he tried to hit his opponent. Every time Stevenson took a shot, Robson Conceicao would simultaneously take a shot of his own.
In front of a packed crowd of 10,107, Newark, New Jersey native Shakur Stevenson seemed locked into being aggressive. He opened the fight by routinely landing straight left hands, and also had success landing well-placed body shots from him. With one second to go in round 4, Shakur scored a knockdown when he hit Conceicao with a hard left to the body.
During the second half of the fight, Stevenson continued to be aggressive by knocking Conceicao down, landing clean hard shots and attacking the body. As Conceicao tried to shield the body from him, Stevenson landed a left hand upstairs. As Shakur set the range and distance, he was trying to fight on the inside, but Conceicao kept holding on whenever Stevenson got close. The hold frustrated Stevenson, as he was penalized one point in round 9 for using a hip throwing motion to throw Conceicao to the mat.
As Conceicao continued to hold on in an attempt to deny his opponent a chance to work on the inside, Stevenson threw a second hip thrust in the tenth round, but fortunately for Stevenson, the referee did not deduct another point. He closed out the championship rounds displaying a commanding brand of technical boxing, and at the end of 12 rounds, Shakur Stevenson was victorious by unanimous decision by scores of 117-109, 117-109 and 118-108.
Despite the loss, Robson Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) may still have a chance to be a 130-pound champion in the near future. Since Stevenson was stripped and Conceicao failed to win the titles in the ring on Saturday night, the belts are officially vacant. Now the top two contenders in the rankings from each organization will compete for those belts.
Shakur Stevenson, 25, competed in two weight classes and was able to become champion in both. Now that he’s outgrown the 126 and 130 pound divisions, it’s time for him to start a new journey at 135. He’s ready for his new challenge and is willing to go straight to the top dog.
During his post-fight interview, Shakur Stevenson hinted at his desire to face the best 135-pound fighter in the division. “We have to fight the champion. Set it up. Devin and I can team up after he fights Kambosos. Let’s move on.” In addition to challenging undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson also stated that he is willing to fight former unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
