Via Jim Calfa: Shakur Stevenson look haggard coming at the 130-pound limit. Oscar Valdez, weighing 129.6 lbs, looked much healthier during their featherweight super-union match on Saturday night, April 30, at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
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Underdog Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) looked excellent, not looking exhausted and with a determined look on his face.
It’s unlikely Valdez will gain much weight overnight, as he is a born super-weight and NOT a weight bully.
He may have had trouble making the 130 lb limit today as thin as Stevenson looks. Stevenson’s looks are unsettling, and you have to wonder how much water he’ll take in overnight while rehydrating.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Stevenson joins mid 150’s when he entered the ring on Saturday night against Valdez.
As such, Shakur is huge for the weight class and should move up to 135 or 140 to compete with boxers of his size. However, it is an advantage to have a significant size advantage over his opponent in the ultralightweight category.
WBO Super Featherweight Champion Stevenson (17-0.9 KOs) keep looking down WBC champion Valdez (30-0.23 KOs) after being eliminated from the head to head round.
Looking nervous, exhausted with a smile that seemed 100% fake, Stevenson was distraught and tried to gain a mental advantage over Valdez ahead of Saturday’s main event battle.
Shakur Stevenson told media. “I’m not worried about what’s going on outside the ring and how many people there are. Just me and Oscar in it.
“I think some people have biased opinions,” Shakur said when asked to respond to media outlets that see him as a “Breed fighter” due to his unwillingness to stay in his pocket and his habit of backing out after taking single shots.
“People will say what they want to say,” says Shakur. “I can beat Valdez, and the next reason would be, ‘He’s too small.’ When I beat [36-year-old Jamel] Herring, they said, ‘He’s too old.’
“You get criticism, so I can’t mind whatever they’re saying because there’s a lot of people behind the keyboard. You never know who is behind the keyboard.
“It could have been a three-year-old playing around,” Stevenson said, not realizing that it wasn’t just the media that called him a “boring boxer.” The fans said the same thing.
