Shakur Stevenson did business as usual for the most part tonight, earning a clear decision over Robson Conceicao in a fight that lost its luster on the scales on Friday when Stevenson dropped weight.
Stevenson won with official scores of 117-109, 117-109 and 118-108. Bad Left Hook had it 116-110 and 119-107 for Stevenson, who was docked a point in the ninth round for a hiptoss, and could have been penalized more severely later for the same thing, but wasn’t.
The end result sends two titles, the WBC and WBO belts at 130 pounds, to an official vacancy, as they were only up for grabs for Conceicao in Newark.
Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) was at times dominant in this fight, stepping up and doing some damage, even if he never had Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) in tremendous danger.
The ringside doctor checked on Conceicao between the seventh and eighth rounds, when Stevenson was at his peak in the fight, but that seemed to alert Conceicao to the fact that he had to do more, and he tried it down the stretch. , in which Stevenson returned. him out a bit, although he would have a great round 11.
There was a lot of rough stuff going on in this fight, with Stevenson seeming to get sidetracked, while also putting in some legitimately good body work, and Conceicao frequently holding on, leading to Stevenson’s frustration with the aforementioned hiptosses.
“I had a long week,” Stevenson said. “I killed myself to gain weight. All I wanted to do was come here and perform, and I did everything I could to do that.”
“I’m just a dominant individual. Even with me against (Conceicao) and the referee, I did everything I could to try to hit him as much as I could,” he added. “He held me all night, but I did my best. As soon as he walked in, he would grab me. But he is very rare and very tough, and he knows how to survive.”
When asked who he might want to target now that he’s moving up to lightweight, Stevenson said, “Everyone at 135 has to understand. Anyone (may be next).”
After being brazenly directed by interviewer Bernardo Osuna, Stevenson proceeded to call Devin Haney.
The fight had an announced attendance of 10,107, breaking the boxing record for the Prudential Center in Newark.
Summary of Stevenson vs Conceicao
Note: Top Rank will surely have better highlights for tomorrow morning, and we’ll insert them when they’re available.
Keyshawn Davis TKO-5 Omar Store
Another excellent outing from Davis, the 23-year-old blue chipper and Tokyo silver medalist, as he goes 6-0 (5 KOs) with a stoppage from veteran Tienda (25-6, 18 KOs).
This was always the expectation, Tienda is a 34-year veteran who had had a winning streak, but no one thought he would be competitive or even win. But the eye test tells you that Davis is the real deal, just an excellent talent that he is a mature and skilled fighter for his age, he doesn’t need a lot of tweaking or professional polishing, and he should be pretty quick.
I’m not saying he’s going to be in a world title fight in his next two or three, but he’s way beyond this level, they’ve got to bring him up to someone halfway credible in the next fight or two, and he’s going to fight. for world titles before his 15th fight, surely. As long as everything goes according to the current trajectory, anyway.
Davis has the same ideas.
“We are working to become a contender,” he said. “My next fight will put me through that process quicker, and next year we will definitely be contenders. We are going to be in the top 10 next year for sure.”
Preliminary and highlights results
Henry Lebron UD-8 Andy Vences: A solid win and good overall performance from Lebron (17-0, 10 KOs), who was too quick, precise and sharp for Vences (23-4-1, 12 KOs), who in this point is clearly a high-end prospect checker and sort of a “Second Chance Tournament” fighter, not that I expect we’ll ever get another one of those. The scores were 78-74, 79-73 and 80-72, all fair, and two rounds was the most I could have given Vences, and that’s what I gave him, my card was 78-74 for Lebron too. Bruce Carrington UD-6 José Argel: It wasn’t the best night for Carrington (5-0, 3 KOs), but mainly because he injured his right thumb in the fight and was reduced to just his left hand for the back half. The good news for him, the positive twist here, is that when he only had one jab, he hit Algiers (9-5, 3 KOs). You’re hoping this isn’t a significant injury, because Carrington is 25 and a little old for where he’s at; that’s not a giant red flag, but a little yellow one. The hope was really that he would move on pretty quickly, and any setback that cost him real time would be bad for him, for Top Rank and for us, because he is a talented fighter. He scored 60-54 across the board here. Pablo Valdez KO-4 Noe Alejandro López: López (11-6-1, 4 KOs) was down three times and the knockout came with a body shot, the final blow of a sustained attack. Valdez (7-0, 6 KOs) is a 39-year-old guy who is popular in the New York area and sells a few tickets. He’s not a rising contender and it’s unlikely he’ll ever fight anyone really good. But he is a guy who has done something with his life after having some problems along the way and a good story. Jahi Tucker UD-8 Jose Luis Sanchez: Not Tucker’s most exciting performance, but legitimately useful rounds, good matchup for the kid. Tucker (9-0, 5 KOs) wins hands down in eight rounds and Sánchez (11-3-1, 4 KOs) earned his money from him. Not bad for a 19-year-old to get a solid eight rounds from an opponent in the game. The scores were 79-73, 80-72 and 80-72. Misael López UD-8 Orlando González: Very good fight, a good fight between Mexico and Puerto Rico. I thought it could have been even or maybe even go to Gonzalez 5-3, or Lopez 5-3 as well. The scores were 77-75 (ie 5-3) and then 78-74 and 79-73; I think 6-2 is a bit wide and 7-1 is very wide, but it’s a good win for Lopez (14-1, 5 KOs) and a tough setback for Gonzalez (18-2, 11 KOs). Jamel Herring, who is part of Lopez’s management team, was very vocal ringside and had a lot of fun. Floyd Diaz UD-6 Juan Hernandez: The scores were 58-55, 58-55 and 59-54. Diaz (7-0, 2 KO) mostly strong again, definitely had more skills but fellow #teenager Hernandez (2-2-1, 0 KO) put up a solid fight here, give him credit but Diaz knocked him down and the deserving W. Antoine Cobb D-4 Jaylan Phillips: This was a rematch of an April tie on the Stevenson vs. Valdez card. This was another draw. None of these boys have a remarkable future, it is very clear. If they make it a trilogy, do we have to see it on the next Shakur card? We have to do it? Cobb is now 1-0-2 (1 KO) and Phillips is 1-2-2 (1 KO).
