By Jim Maltzman: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum won’t match Shakur Stevenson against WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez as he’d hoped. Instead, Arum to ESPN that he plans on having Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs) defend his title against #15 WBO fringe contender Robson Conceicao in September.
Valdez vs. Conceicao will be taking place in Arizona in September, says Arum.
It’s unknown why Arum is choosing to let Valdez take a lesser fight following his big win over Miguel Berchelt last February.
Arum wants Stevenson to take on Jamel Herring in the winter at Madison Square Garden in New York,
The perfect follow-up to that huge victory for Valdez would be to defend against Shakur Stevenson, not Conceicao.
The 32-year-old Brazilian Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs) is a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, and five-year pro.
Unfortunately, Conceicao hasn’t yet fought anyone of note as a professional, so it’s difficult to ascertain whether he’s a threat to Valdez or not.
Valdez defending against Conceicao won’t make beaten #1 WBO Shakur Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs) happy because he was hoping to challenge Oscar for his WBC strap next.
Arum is going to let the Oscar Valdez vs. Shakur Stevenson fight build for a while before he eventually puts them in with each other, possibly in 2022.
It’s a risky move for Arum to have Valdez and Stevenson let their fight slowly marinate because something could happen.
For example, what happens if Valdez or Stevenson gets beaten? Also, Shakur could move up to 135 soon to chase the bigger paydays.
Stevenson, 23, has a fight this Saturday against #2 WBO Jeremiah Nakathila (21-1, 17 KOs) for the vacant interim WBO super featherweight title in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Shakur has said repeatedly this week that if he wins the fight with Nakathila, he wants to face Oscar Valdez for the WBC strap rather than challenge WBO 130-lb champion, Jamel Herring.
Arum’s plans for Stevenson to fight Herring could blow up on him, as Herring is talking about moving up to 135 if he can’t get the fight with Oscar Valdez. that’s the match that Herring wanted.
There’s no money in it for Herring to defend against Stevenson. So if Herring vacates the WBO 130-lb title, he’ll move up to 135 and try and land a big money fight against IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez
Conceicao has an excellent amateur pedigree, but he’s wasted his talent as a pro by fighting weak opposition for the last five years.
Here are Conceicao’s last six opponents:
- Jesus Antonio Ahumada
- Luis Coria
- Eduardo Pereira Dos Reis
- Carlos Ruiz
- Sergio Ariel Estrela
- Hector Ruben Ambriz Suarez
“Valdez and me is the biggest fight out there at 130,” said Stevenson to ESPN. “He’s a young, hungry lion, undefeated, never lost before. I’m a young, hungry lion, also undefeated, never lost before. He’s in his prime.