The top 135-pound fighters will soon be very busy.
Shakur Stevenson put in another dominant performance in his final fight at 130, easily outpointing Robson Conceicao on Friday in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
The official scores were 118-108, 117-109 and 117-109. Boxing Junkie also scored him 118-108, 11 rounds to one.
Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) lost both of his 130-pound titles on the scale Thursday, coming in 1.6 pounds over the limit.
Thus, the belts were on the line only for Conceicao, who could have pulled out of the fight, reclaimed his entire purse, and fought someone else for the now vacant titles. Instead, he decided to continue the fight.
Things did not go well for him.
A brilliant southpaw, Stevenson picked Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) apart from the opening bell with strong lefts to the head and body that won him round after round.
Conceicao, the 2016 Olympic champion, never stopped trying. She simply couldn’t land her blows accurately due to her opponent’s amazing defensive abilities.
The Brazilian was dropped by a body shot in the closing seconds of the fourth round. And Stevenson lost a point for knocking him to the canvas in the ninth round.
However, those moments had no impact on the result. When the final bell rang, no one doubted who would raise their hands.
The only thing Stevenson couldn’t do was knock out his outmatched opponent, which underscored the fact that he doesn’t have the knockout power of some of his teammates.
However, the domain is the domain. Stevenson made a strong statement even without a stoppage.
What’s next for the 25-year-old? Possibly much bigger things.
Stevenson has expressed interest in fighting former pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko, who remains at 135 pounds.
And, of course, undisputed champion Devin Haney is also in Stevenson’s sights. Haney is scheduled to face former champion George Kambosos Jr. in a rematch on October 16.
And there are other attractive possibilities if Stevenson can’t get Lomachenko or Haney right away.
The bottom line is that he is coming. And that, based on Stevenson’s success at 126 and 130, doesn’t seem like good news for top fighters at 135.
