Oscar Valdez vs. Shakur Stevenson contracts sent out says Bob Arum

By Boxing News - 01/19/2022 - Comments

By Jim Calfa: Bob Arum says contracts have been sent out to super featherweight champions Oscar Valdez and Shakur Stevenson for their April 30th unification fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Top Rank promoter Arum says he’s confident that the contracts will be returned to him signed by WBC 130-lb champion Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) and WBO champion Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs).

Arum says that Valdez’s trainer Eddy Reynoso is on board with the match-up, and he wouldn’t have done the fight with Shakur if he felt that Oscar was hesitant about making it.

Valdez, 31, is coming off one of the least impressive victories of his ten-year professional career against Robson Conceicao on September 10th in Tucson, Arizona. It was a fight that many in the boxing world thought Valdez had lost.

As controversial as it was, Valdez arguably should have readily agreed to give the Brazilian fighter Conceicao a rematch, but he’s chosen to move on rather than risk his luck.

Arum is waiting for Valdez & Stevenson to sign

“I think it’s done,” said Bob Arum to Fighthype when asked about the April 30th fight negotiations between Oscar Valdez and Shakur Stevenson. “We wouldn’t have done it if [Oscar] Valdez was reluctant. Eddie Reynoso wanted that fight as well.”

Image: Oscar Valdez vs. Shakur Stevenson contracts sent out says Bob Arum

“Jeremy Kogel, our business affairs guy in general council,  has sent out the contracts [to Valdez and Shakur], and we’re anticipating they’ll come back signed,”  Arum continued on the Valdez-Stevenson negotiations.

At the MGM Grand [in Las Vegas] on April 30th,” Arum said when asked when and where the Stevenson vs. Valdez unification super featherweight fight will be taking place.

You got to give Valdez respect for taking this fight because the 34-year-old Shakur Stevenson is looking next to unbeatable right now.

The 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur is coming off a sparkingly performance in dethroning WBO 130-lb champion Jamel Herring on October 23 in Atlanta.

Stevenson dominated Herring from start to finish before putting him away in the tenth round. The 5’10” Herring rarely landed anything in the fight, as Stevenson’s was on form that night.

Shakur needs to stay in the pocket more

The only negative that you can take away from Shakur’s performance against Herring was that he made the fight boring to watch because of his pull-back style of fighting.

Stevenson would land a shot and then immediately pull back to the safety of the outside to keep from getting hit.

Another name for this fighting style is the ‘Hit & run,’ which Floyd Mayweather Jr. made popular during his career. It’s a style that is an acquired taste for fans to get used to.

While some boxing fans love seeing fighters pulling back & running around the ring to avoid getting hit, others prefer seeing wars.

Hopefully, Shakur stays in the pocket more against Valdez because the boxing fans will want to see an exciting fight on April 30th, and they won’t be able to do that if Stevenson uses his pull-back style all night.