By Chris Williams: Shakur Stevenson blames the weight loss on Thursday due to his body no longer being able to get down to 130 for what would have been a WBC and WBO super featherweight title defense against Robson Conceicao.
During Thursday’s weigh-in, Stevenson weighed in at 131.6 pounds and surprisingly didn’t choose to use the two hours he had to shed 1.6 pounds to make weight.
Shakur said his “health comes first” so he wasn’t going to take any chances for this fight. Not surprisingly, Stevenson didn’t want to wear himself out for a fight against the talented Conceicao because it’s going to be a tough enough fight as it is.
Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) and Conceicao (17-1, 8 KOs) will headline ESPN at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Shakur, 25, says, “I’m going up to 135” to take on the big names in that division. It doesn’t make sense for Stevenson to stay at 130 because he beat the only two big names in Oscar Valdez and Jamel Herring.
If Stevenson stayed at super featherweight, he would have minor fights against Joe Cordina, and that’s not a fight US boxing fans care to see.
I gave it all. I’ve been pro my whole career and I’ve gained weight, but my body can’t do 130 anymore. My health has to come first. I’m going up to 135 in my next fight.
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) September 22, 2022
It’s show time, I’m on lockdown regardless, see you soon ????????
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) September 22, 2022
Stevenson seemed a bit intimidated during the final showdown with 2016 Olympic gold medalist Conceicao, and you can understand why. Conceicao should still be undefeated after receiving the short end of the stick in a questionable 12-round decision against Oscar Valdez last September.
During the matchup, the normally confident Stevenson seemed nervous as the 33-year-old Brazilian Conceicao stared at him. Given what Conceicao did against Valdez, you can understand Shakur’s nervousness.
For Stevenson’s sake, he better hope he doesn’t drop weight for this fight because Conceicao has the size advantage over him to cause him a lot of trouble for the duration of this fight.
Going up to 135 will immediately put Stevenson in a position to challenge the winner of the Oct. 15 rematch between undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr.
Top Rank promotes Haney, so it would be an option for them to pit Stevenson against him if they don’t use Vasyl Lomachenko for that job.
