By: Sean Crose
Shakur Stevenson may not have had his title belts on him when he stepped into the ring at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Friday night, but there was no question the 18-0 fighter had the hometown crowd behind him. . Stevenson, who originally hailed from Newark, lost his WBO and WBC junior lightweight titles on the scales Thursday. That, however, did not mean his opponent, former gold medalist Robson Conceicao at 17-1, was still ineligible to win those belts. If Conceicao were to beat the favorite Stevenson, he would not only become world champion, but he would have pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of the year. The scheduled 12-round match was the main event on a card broadcast live on ESPN.
First, though, was an 8-round lightweight fight between Omar Tienda (25-5) and popular former silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (5-0). The first round was quite competitive, but Davis started putting his punches together early in the second. By the third, there was no question that Davis was in total control, throwing glances and keeping his distance with ease. Tienda, perhaps frustrated, actually threw Davis to the mat in the fourth. The act did nothing to stem the tide of the fight.
A single forehand dropped Tienda in the fifth. Tent bravely stood up, but the fight was almost over. A flurry of punches from Davis prompted the referee to stop the fight moments later.
It was time for the main event. The opening two rounds of Stevenson-Conceicao were quick but not exactly significant. Conceicao threw the jab at him as Stevenson tried to maintain range and land effectively. The two men threw punches at each other in the third. Stevenson was clearly the stronger of the two, but it was Conceicao who landed the better shots. Both men exchanged leather in the room. Conceicao ended up getting dropped by a body shot late in the round. He beat the count, though, and was able to get back into his corner.
Although Conceicao was still heavily involved in the fight, it was Stevenson who threw body shots in the fifth. Still, Conceicao kept punching. Halfway through the fight, it was downright hard not to admire the guy. He was already clearly getting hit, but he was prepared to come out with his sword. Still, Conceicao came back into his corner late in the seventh looking bruised, battered and utterly beaten. It was worth asking how much longer the fight should be allowed to continue.
Although the beating continued for the next several rounds, it began to appear that as brutal as his performance was, Stevenson couldn’t really stop his man from a distance. This gave a frustrating air to the fight. Conceicao essentially couldn’t win, but he couldn’t get knocked out either. Harsh as it was to witness, the violence unleashed by Stevenson began to seem almost mundane. Almost.
The irony was that, with a little more power, Conceicao would be very much in the fight. However, Conceicao clearly didn’t have that power, so he just did his best while Stevenson controlled the match. The championship rounds offered more of the same. Stevenson hit his shoulder, while Conceicao continued to throw punches ineffectively. His face a mess, but his determination intact, Conceicao fought desperately until the final bell.
The judges did their job, awarding Stevenson a unanimous decision victory.
