Back in the day, a young, extremely talented boxer with the pedigree of Shakur Stevenson always tested himself early in his career to see if he had THE GOODS.
When Sugar Ray Lenord fought Roberto Duran and Tommy Hearns, he was 24 and 25 years old, respectfully. When he fought undefeated Wilfred Benitez, he was 23.
When Floyd Mayweather fought Diego Corrales, he was 23. When he fought Jose Luis Castillo, he was 25.
When Shakur Stevenson steps in the ring with Oscar Valdez, he will be 24 years old.
What did Duran, Hearns, Corrales, and Castillo all have in common? They were all tough as nails and felt like they had bricks in their gloves.
Stevenson wants to be one of the faces of boxing, and the only way to do it is to go through the fire. It isn’t even about dominating Valdez like, say, Mayweather did Corrales. It might mean going to war as Leonard did with Hearns.
There are good fighters, and there are elite fighters. Valdez is a serious customer. He isn’t afraid of Stevenson and wants to break him down. Every time people have counted him out, he has risen and proven people wrong.
After getting popped for some ALLEGED “tainted tea,” Valdez has something to prove, he is the underdog, but that is nothing new for him.
Most pound-for-pound guys are over 30 now, and new blood is needed. ESPN is doing a significant favor to Shakur by not putting this fight on PPV. Millions of people will tune in to see that Shakur Stevenson is the real deal or a hype job.
Will he be exposed, or will he show he will be a problem for years to come?
This will be the fight that determines what career path he will go on. It is significant for Valdez as well because if he wins, similar to when Duran won against Sugar Ray, it will get him the respect he feels he deserves.
So, tune in for a night to remember.
The official BSO pick is Stevenson by unanimous decision, BUT anything can happen.
Flip the pages for the weigh-in staredown.