Via Jim Calfa: Shakur Stevenson says he believes he has a great chance of stopping WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez in their unification fight next month on April 30.
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While it wouldn’t be a shock for WBO champion Shakur (17-0.9 KOs) to take a decisive win over Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) undefeated, but scored by knockout. going to be a great achievement.
Attempting to KO Valdez will make lightly hit Stevenson vulnerable to his larger punches, and it could backfire on him.
Stevenson should focus on fighting his game, which is the Mayweather-esque drag style he’s been using since his amateur days.
If Stevenson tries too hard to get a goal in this teamfight, he could encounter one of Valdez’s powerful left hooks and be eliminated as Miguel Berchelt.
We saw Stevenson stunned by a jab from Jeremiah Nakathila last June. It stands to reason that if Nakathila can injure Stevenson with a powerful jab, Valdez can do more with one of his left hooks.
Stevenson wants knockout
“I think the key to winning this war is who wants it more,” Shakur told Fighthype in the match against Valdez. “I feel like I want that more than he does, and I feel like skills are going to play some role.
“I feel like I’m much smarter than himso I’m going to show on April 30th. You have to look at it as if he’s walked away so many miles in his career with all the fights he’s been in,” Shakur said of how Valdez fought Scott Quigg with a broken jaw in March 2018.
“I can get him out of there. That is a big possibility. I think you all should start looking at that. We’ll see where the fight goes, but I tell you, don’t count me when it comes to that.
“Watch April 30, Stevenson vs Valdez, the biggest fight in boxing. I’m becoming a superstar, let’s do it,” Shakur said.
Stevenson has the advantage in defensive boxing skills, but not in offensive ability. Valdez is more equipped for front-foot combat than Stevenson, who is about as powerful as Devin Haney.
It’s frustrating for Stevenson to watch famous lightweight players like Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis score by knockout and look at how much he’s earned. Tanks are another type of fighter aircraft.
He is blessed with both strength and speed, but not so much with his defense. Stevenson is the opposite. No average hand strength and speed, but great defensive skills thanks to his reflexes and footwork.
Shakur wants Canelo to fight Benavidez
In the same interview, Stevenson said he would have beaten Canelo Alvarez if he were on the same level as him. Stevenson is probably right. Canelo doesn’t throw many punches, and he loses his shots because of his bad habit of overloading things.
“I’ve never actually watched Bivol, so I can’t tell you,” Shakur said when asked about his thoughts on the May 7 match between Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol. “When I followed him, he was a solid boxer.
“Right now, you have to be cool to beat Canelo. I feel that only great fighters can beat Canelo. If Andre Ward was still boxing, I would say, ‘Andre Ward.’ Other than that, I don’t really see too many people around his weight,” Stevenson said of Canelo.
“Oh, yes, Benavidez. It will be a good fight, though. That would be a really good fight. Other than that, there’s no one who can really compete with his weight,” Shakur said of Saul Alvarez.
