By Vince D’Writer: After weighing in at 1.6 pounds over the contracted weight limit and losing his WBC, WBO super featherweight titles on the scale, Shakur Stevenson was able to salvage his homecoming event by showcasing his superior boxing skills, as he proceeded to dominate his opponent Robson Conceicao inside of the squared circle en route to earning a unanimous decision victory.
Despite the fact that Shakur Stevenson didn’t make the required weight, Robson Conceicao came into the fight highly motivated, because if he was able to find a way to get the upset victory, Conceicao would have left the ring with a big win, and the WBC and WBO belts. The challenger had a decent start to the fight as he made an attempt to punch with his opponent. Everytime Stevenson threw a shot, Robson Conceicao would simultaneously throw a shot of his own.
In front of a sellout crowd of 10,107, the Newark, New Jersey native Shakur Stevenson seemed locked in on being aggressive. He opened the fight by routinely landing the straight left hand, and he also had success at landing well placed shots to the body. With one second to go in round 4, Shakur scored a knockdown when he hit Conceicao with a sharp left to the body.
During the second half of the fight, Stevenson continued to be aggressive by walking Conceicao down, landing clean hard shots, and attacking the body. When Conceicao tried to protect his body, Stevenson landed the left hand up top. As Shakur established the range and distance, he was trying to fight in the inside, but Conceicao kept holding everytime Stevenson got close. The holding frustrated Stevenson as he was penalized a point in round 9 for using a hip toss move to throw Conceicao down to the canvas.
As Conceicao continued to hold in an attempt to deny his opponent the opportunity to work in the inside, Stevenson delivered a second hip toss in the tenth round, but fortunately for Stevenson the referee didn’t deduct another point. He closed out the championship rounds by displaying a dominant brand of technical boxing, and at the end of 12-rounds Shakur Stevenson was awarded the unanimous decision victory by the scores of 117-109, 117-109, and 118-108.
Despite the loss, Robson Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs) may still have an opportunity to be a 130-pound champion in the near future. Since Stevenson was stripped, and Conceicao failed to win the titles in the ring on Saturday night, the belts are officially vacant. Now the top two contenders in each organization’s rankings will compete for those belts.
The 25-year-old Shakur Stevenson has competed in two weight classes, and he was able to become a champion in both. Now that he’s outgrown the 126 and 130-pound divisions, it’s time for him to start a new journey at 135. He’s ready for his new challenge as he’s willing to go straight to the top dog.
During his post fight interview, Shakur Stevenson hinted at his desire to face the best 135 pounder in the division. “We got to fight the champ. Set it up. Me and Devin can lock in after he fight Kambosos. Lets get it on.” In addition to challenging the undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson also stated he’s willing to fight the former unified lightweight champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko.
