By Matt Lieberman: Oscar Valdez says he wants to face Shakur Stevenson next after destroying WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt by a thunderous 10th round knockout last Saturday night in ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs) shocked the world and proved his doubters wrong in dropping the well-respected Berchelt (37-2, 33 KOs) down three times before knocking him unconscious with a left hook to the head in the tenth round in their fight on ESPN and ESPN+ last Saturday night.
Stevenson to face Herring vs. Frampton winner
A fight between Stevenson and Valdez might not be able to take place next, through. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur (15-0, 8 KOs) will be fighting the winner of the match between WBO super featherweight champion Jamel Herring and Carl Frampton.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, of course, could change his mind about his plans to have Stevenson, 23, take on the Herring – Frampton winner. We’ll have to see what Arum’s next move is.
One would assume that Arum will stay the course by matching Stevenson with the winner of that WBO title fight between Frampton and Herring, as it’ll help build interest for a later match in 2021 between Shakur and Valdez.
Stevenson doesn’t punch with the same kind of power that Valdez possesses and he lacks his hand and foot speed as well. Stevenson’s fighting style is more like Adrien Broner with the way he heavy feet, and moderate hand speed and power.
“I want to take this belt home, and I’m happy for that. Any champion out there,” said Valdez after his victory last Saturday night.
“I heard Shakur Stevenson wants to fight. Let’s do it. I just want to keep on fighting and give the fans what they want.”
It’s a great fight if Arum chooses to match Shakur against Valdez next, but he needs to wait until Stevenson picks up the WBO title first.
The Valdez vs. Stevenson fight will be bigger if both guys have titles when they meet in 2021 rather than just one of them.
Stevenson remarks on Valdez’s win:
“Let’s not lose sight on the fact that I’m #1 in the WBC now too,” said Shakur Stevenson on Twitter in talking about Oscar Valdez. “Congrats champ @oscarvaldez56. I respect what you did tonight surprised me.. It’s only 1 FIGHT to make now! I need that strap.
“Come on, there’s no other fight to make now,” said Shakur Stevenson when asked by Kevin Iole when asked who he wants to fight next.
Stevenson apparently thought that Berchelt was going to win, and ended up being surprised with Valdez crushing the champion in 10 rounds.
Shakur is #1 with the WBC, but he’s also #1 with the World Boxing Organization. That’s that next target for Stevenson, not Valdez, according to his promoter Arum.
Valdez talks about proving people wrong
“I wish him nothing but the best. It was sad to see him like that,” said Valdez to Little Giant Boxing in talking about Berchelt. “It was a guy that I had nothing but respect. We weren’t friends, but after the fight, I wish him nothing but the best.
“He could be a champion at 130 pounds. He struggled to make weight, and I’ve got nothing bad to say about him. I wish him nothing but the best. I wanted to stay focused.
“He hit me with a couple of body shots, and I thought, ‘Damn, he hits hard.’ Every time I would hit him in the face, I felt like I was hitting a rock. I listened to my corner Eddy Reynoso and we got it done.
“People doubted me. The boxing analysts, the experts, and my idol said it. They all said I was going to get knocked out,” said Valdez about people doubting he could defeat Berchelt. “I stayed calm, I said, ‘Okay, I’ll prove everybody wrong.
We’ve promoted every fight of his pro career, and this was the culmination. With @oscarvaldez56, you can’t count him out against anybody, and I really believe the best is yet to come.
I’m so proud of him. pic.twitter.com/Tu1qPiDKls
— Bob Arum (@BobArum) February 21, 2021
“There’s nothing better than to prove everybody wrong,’ Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do nothing. If you start listening to it, you might start believing in it. Believe in yourself, train hard, and anything in life is possible,” said Valdez.