LAS VEGAS — Shakur Stevenson made beating the undefeated Oscar Valdez look easy as he became a unified super featherweight champion Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Stevenson rolled to a dominant unanimous decision victory, adding Valdez's WBC belt and The Ring title to his WBO championship. The scores were 117-110, 118-109 and 118-109. The Sporting News scored the bout 119-108 for Stevenson.
He was fighting in hostile territory. A heavily pro-Valdez crowd of 10,102 showered the 24-year-old with jeers as he made his walk to the ring alongside rapper Da Baby. That crowd tried to urge Valdez on as he attempted to apply pressure to the 2016 Olympic silver medalist. By the end of the fight, the raucous crowd was all but out of it as Stevenson took the final 10 seconds to take a victory lap around the ring while flexing his arms.
To be honest, Stevenson probably had a more difficult time prepping his postfight proposal to his girlfriend.
As for the fight? Total domination. Stevenson used his jab, picked off Valdez from the outside and used his brilliant defense and poise to control just about every minute.
As the rounds progressed, Valdez was determined but looked more and more flustered by his inability to impose his will. By Round 6, Stevenson began sitting down on his power shots and scored a flash knockdown as he clipped Valdez rushing in.
Valdez never checked out but realized he needed something big to turn the fight around. Unfortunately for him, Stevenson wasn't going to give him that opening. Valdez found himself getting picked off by jabs, straight lefts and uppercuts whenever he tried to advance and launch a salvo of bombs.
Stevenson is now considering a move up to lightweight, where the likes of Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia dwell.
The Sporting News provided live round-by-round updates and its unofficial scorecard for the fight. Here's how it all went down:
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Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Valdez live results, updates
(All times Eastern)
Shakur Stevenson unifies titles with dominant performance (117-110, 118-109, 118-109)
Round 12: Stevenson circles and the crowd boos. Valdez roars in but is fed a short right hand. Valdez won’t quit but gets clipped by a short right hook. Stevenson bombs Valdez with a pair of hooks. They exchange to the final bell and Shakur staggers Valdez with a left hook. Shakur smiles at the 10-second mark, races around the ring and flexes until the final bell. Domination.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (119-108, Stevenson)
Round 11: Shakur cracks Valdez with a left uppercut. A blistering combination lands. Valdez is trying to fight his way back into it but he can’t crack the code. The punches are landing harder for Shakur. Stevenson with a four-punch combination and now he’s sitting on his power shots. He’s blistering Valdez. Punches are coming from every angle.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (109-99, Stevenson)
Round 10: Valdez throws a bunch of punches. The crowd cheers but nothing lands. Valdez lands a right and Shakur gives him two back. Shakur lands a hard left hook. Valdez is flustered. Shakur racks him up with a trio of punches. Valdez has no answers for Stevenson and the crowd is realizing he’s out of this fight.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (99-90, Stevenson)
Round 9: Valdez is wearing his desperation. Only one fighter is fighting his fight tonight, and it’s Stevenson. Valdez just can’t find an entry point and when he advances he gets cracked by a patient Stevenson. Hard left uppercut jolts Valdez. Straight left freezes Valdez. Stevenson to the body and head. It’s a methodical whooping.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (89-81, Stevenson)
Round 8: Both trying to find a home for the big shot. Valdez gets picked off every time he advances. He needs a game-changer. Stevenson rips him with a combination. Stevenson is in a zone.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (79-72, Stevenson)
Round 7: Shakur eats a left hand but takes it well. He’s being patient and picking his spots. Body shot by Valdez. Valdez walks into a left hand and a right hook. Valdez charges forward but is smothered. Right hands by Valdez lands after he takes the back end of a combination. Stevenson is walking him down. Smacks him with an uppercut. Valdez on the rush and the crowd loves it. Is it enough to win the round? Nah.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (69-63, Stevenson)
Round 6: For some reason, Valdez took an extra 10 seconds to get off the stool and Shakur isn’t happy. Shakur pops the jab, Valdez misses and Shakur puts him down with a left hand! Valdez protests the knockdown and Stevenson is lighting him up. Left hook, jab and body shots. Stevenson is beating up Valdez now. Four-punch combination. Stevenson is being patient but seeking the kill. Valdez fires back. Valdez walks into an uppercut. It’s target practice for Shakur but Valdez is trying to fight his way out of it. The train is leaving the station and about to run Valdez over.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-8, Stevenson (59-54, Stevenson)
Round 5: Valdez goes on the chase again. Stevenson gets away without taking much damage. Pops a left hand. Shakur beginning to open up at mid-range. Valdez launches bombs and sneaks a right hand in. Good body shot by Shakur. Left hand down the middle by Shakur bounces off of Valdez’s forehead. Shakur operating now. Valdez springs into action and Shakur smothers him. A right hand picks Valdez off. Shakur is landing some hard shots to close the round. This is bad news for Valdez.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (49-46, Stevenson)
Round 4: Valdez back to standing in front of Shakur and not pressing. He finally goes on the offense and lands a combination. Shakur doesn’t seem to like the bum rush. Three-punch combo by Shakur. Valdez can’t just stand there. Shakur misses a sweeping hook. Close round and tough to score.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (39-37, Stevenson)
Round 3: Stevenson is just surgical from the outside. Valdez lands a right hand and is pressing the action. Shakur smiles and pops the jab. Body shot by Shakur. Valdez swings and misses and eats a right hand. Valdez is chasing Shakur around the ring but not landing much. Shakur gets him to sit still and lands a pair of body shots. Valdez fires a combination and catches air and gloves.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Valdez (29-28, Stevenson)
Round 2: Valdez doing a lot of moving but Shakur isn’t fooled by any of it. Short left lands for Shakur. Uppercut by Shakur. Combination. Valdez can’t get off. He looks stuck in the mud. Shakur is piecing up Valdez something serious already. Valdez needs to land something big or this train is gonna run away and run him over. Shakur blisters him with a pair of straight lefts. Valdez gives chase but can’t land. Valdez lands a left hand and the crowd goes nuts. Shakur answers with a right hand as the round comes to a close.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson (20-18, Stevenson)
Round 1: Valdez presses forward. Stevenson lands a quick left hand. Shakur pumps the jab and lands an uppercut. Valdez misses wildly and hits the deck. Stevenson lands a 1-2 and circles away. Body shot by Shakur. Valdez can’t find his target. Shakur controls range and goes to the body. Combination by Shakur. Right hand lands for Valdez.
SN unofficial scorecard: 10-9, Stevenson
11:47 p.m.: Shakur Stevenson enters the ring with Da Baby by his side. The crowd drowns out Da Baby with boos. Yeah, it's a fight.
11:41 p.m.: After the coin toss, it is determined that Valdez will walk first. This crowd is on fire.
11:38 p.m.: It's main event time. This crowd is white-hot for Oscar Valdez and it nearly blew the roof off of the arena when Canelo made his to his seat. This fight feels like a pay-per-view. Terence Crawford and Devin Haney are also in attendance along with several players who just made the leap to the league at the NFL Draft.
Keyshawn Davis bludgeons Esteban Sanchez for sixth-round stoppage
11:15 p.m.: Davis put on an absolutely brutal display of punching in the fifth round. Sanchez couldn't escape as Davis cracked him with a bevy of power shots. Somehow, Sanchez remained on his feet but the end could be near.
11:07 p.m.: After three rounds, Davis is in control. But if the crowd is any indication, Shakur Stevenson is going to be in hostile territory tonight. This crowd is fully behind Sanchez.
10:39 p.m.: Up next will be 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis as he looks to stay perfect against Esteban Sanchez in the co-main event.
Nico Ali Walsh obliterates Alejandro Ibarra with first-round KO
10:33 p.m.: Well, looks like we got our answer. Ali Walsh detonated a brutal right hand on Ibarra's face to score the knockout. That's how you start the main card. Ali Walsh improves to 5-0 and collects his fourth stoppage inside the distance.
10:26 p.m.: We're kicking off the Stevenson-Valdez main card with the grandson of a legend. Nico Ali Walsh faces Alejandro Ibarra. Can the young Ali continue his journey to being a credible fighter and not just live off the Ali name? We'll find out.
When is Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Valdez?
- Date: Saturday, April 30
- Event start: 6:30 p.m. ET
- Main card: 10 p.m. ET
- Main event: Midnight ET (approx.)
Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Valdez will take place on Saturday, April 30. The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET following the prelims at 6:30 p.m. ET. Stevenson and Valdez should make their way to the ring around midnight ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last.
How to watch, live stream Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Valdez
- TV channels: ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes
The Stevenson vs. Valdez main card will air on ESPN. It can also be live streamed through ESPN+.
Fans in Canada can watch Stevenson vs. Valdez via FuboTV, Bell, Rogers, Shaw, SaskTel, Videotron, Telus and Eastlink.
MORE: Sign up to watch Shakur Stevenson vs Oscar Valdez, exclusively on ESPN+
Stevenson vs. Valdez price: How much does the card cost?
Fans can watch the fight on ESPN+ with a $6.99 month;y subscription (or a $69.99 annual subscription).
| Product | Overall prices |
|---|---|
| ESPN+ Monthly Subscription | $6.99/month |
| ESPN+ Annual Subscription | $69.99/year |
| The Disney Bundle w/Hulu Ad-Supported | $19.99/month |
| The Disney Bundle w/Hulu No-Ads | $13.99/month |
Shakur Stevenson vs. Oscar Valdez fight card
- Shakur Stevenson def. Oscar Valdez via unanimous decision for the WBO, WBC, and The Ring super featherweight titles (117-110, 118-109, 118-109),
- Keyshawn Davis def. Esteban Sanchez via 6th-round TKO (2:44).
- Nico Ali Walsh def. Alejandro Ibarra via 1st-round KO (2:50).
