On Friday night in Newark, NJ, Shakur Stevenson will defend his unified 130-pound world titles in a homecoming defense he’s clearly been waiting for. Now, we will see if his opponent, the Brazilian Robson Conceicao, can ruin his plans for a great weekend.
The fighters held their final press conference before the WBC and WBO junior lightweight championships come into play in the Top Rank Boxing/ESPN main event,
Everything at stake in Brick City ????????#StevensonConceicao | FRIDAY | ESPN pic.twitter.com/4CIw2qCqRw
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 19, 2022
From the launch of Top Rank,
“Shakur Stevenson is two days away from the last homecoming. The WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine junior lightweight king will defend his belts on Friday night against Robson Conceição (17-1, 8 KOs) at the Prudential Center. Stevenson, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, is a Newark native fighting on home soil as a first-time world champion.
Before Stevenson and Conceição took the microphone, the Newark City Mayor’s office presented Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) with a proclamation declaring September 21, 2022, as Shakur Stevenson Day in the city. . That was followed by a special plaque from Quitman Street School students, Stevenson attended Quitman Street for elementary school and the building is less than a mile from the Prudential Center.
In the eight-round lightweight co-feature, US Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (5-0, 4 KOs) steps up in his class against Omar Tienda (25-5, 18 KOs).
“Honestly, I’m ready to fight. I’m not really focused on pressure. I don’t care about all that. I’m really focused on working Friday night. I am ready to fight at the end of the day. All I can think about is fighting and taking action. That’s all I have in mind,” Stevenson told the media on Wednesday.
“He is a good fighter. But I think he lost against Valdez. If you left it in the hands of the judges, you lost. I fought Valdez and gave him a beating. I have no excuses. He’s talking about having COVID or something before his last fight. All he hears are excuses. I am ready to fight. Tell him he has no excuses on Friday night. I’m ready to beat him up.”
“I never leave it in the hands of the judges. I go there and take whatever I want.”
As for former world title challenger Conceição, who previously lost to Oscar Valdez in a close decision last fall, he said Wednesday,
“I’m very motivated. I’ve trained my whole life for this moment. The world could see that I was better than Oscar Valdez. I should have won. So he’s not actually defending two titles because one should have been mine. I am an uncrowned champion and I am ready for Friday night.”
“Shakur is someone I really respect. He is a great athlete. I can tell he is young, probably too excited and talks too much. Next Friday, there will only be one champion, and that champion is me.”
Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) returns to the Prudential Center following his dominant victory over Oscar Valdez in April. That’s when he unified two junior lightweight titles in a nearly shutout decision. He is a two-division world champion who previously also held the WBO featherweight title.
As for Conceição (17-1, 8 KOs), he made history as Brazil’s first Olympic boxing gold medalist, and after his loss to Valdez in September 2021, he defeated previously undefeated Xavier Martínez in a decision in the Top Rank show in Tulsa. , okay, in April. That has him back in a title shot.
Headlines for Friday’s fight on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ (10 pm ET/7 pm PT)
