By Adam Baskin: Oscar Valdez says he thinks Shakur Stevenson is better than Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney at 135. In Valdez’s eyes, the unbeaten former two-division world champion Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) is the best fighter in the lightweight division.
The former two-division world champion and two-time Olympian Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) know firsthand how good Shakur is after losing a lopsided twelve round unanimous decision to him last year in April.
The scores were 117-110, 118-109, and 118-109. That was the first career defeat for Valdez, who looked lost the entire fight against the highly skilled 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur.
Tank Davis will have a lot of pressure on him soon to face Stevenson because the undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney is expected to move to 140.
Before he moves up to light welterweight, Haney will make an attempt to set up a fight with Gervonta, but if his management at PBC makes the fight contditional to Devin agreeing to a rehydration clause, it’s not going to happen.
Haney won’t agree to give Tank Davis a handicap as he had against Ryan Garcia, Mario Barrios, and who knows how many others. With Haney out of the picture, Gervonta will be expected to face Shakur because fans aren’t going to want to see him fight a quality opponent for a change.
Shakur Stevenson better than Tank & Haney
“I’ve never faced Tank or Devin Haney in the pros, but I’ve faced Shakur Stevenson. That guy is special,” said Oscar Valdez to Fighthype when asked if Shakur could beat Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney.
“Shakur is hard to hit, as many people know. He’s one step away from your shots. I don’t know how that fight would end between Tank and Shakur Stevenson. Tank is fast and carries a big punch, and he’s got the knockout power.
“It’s hard to knock somebody out who is very defensive like Shakur, very smart. His ring IQ is on another level, so I think it’s going to be a tough division, but I do see Shakur up there to be the best because I’ve been in the ring with him. It’s hard to hit him; it’s as simple as that.
“He lands his, but you don’t land yours. Even if you land your shot, he’s in a position where it’s not a solid shot for you to knock him out. So even if you hit him, it’s more like a tap because he’s always leaning back where he has that little distance where you can’t reach him.
“He just rocks just a little bit back where you can’t get that clean shot in. So if somebody is looking to knock Shakur out, it’s going to be a rough night for you because you can’t knock out something you can’t hit.
“Shakur is very defensive. He’s very special in my eyes. I do see him in the future becoming one of the best pound-for-pound,” said Oscar.
Valdez wants Navarrete & Foster
“We want to fight those fights. It’s nothing personal with O’Shaquie Foster or Emmanuel Navarrete,” said Valdez. “It’s just the fact that they’ve got the belts. When you’ve got the belt, you’re the target. Everyone wants to fight you.
“Of course, the main target is Emmanuel Navarrete because we’ve got unfinished business. We already signed the contract to fight, and people want to see it. When I was 20, 21, and 22, people had that same question. ‘When are you going to fight Shakur? When are going to fight Shakur?’ Everywhere I’d go, it was the same question.
“Nowadays, I get the question, ‘When are you going to fight Navarrete? When are you going to fight Navarrete?’ When I go to a store, there’s an old guy that knows boxing, ‘Hey, when are going to fight Navarrete?’ So that’s the fight that I want now because people want it.
“So if everything goes exactly how I plan because we all have a dream and all have a plan. Most of the time, are plans don’t go as we want them to fight Vaquero before, but if everything goes as I want to, I want to fight Emmanuel Navarrete and then Foster.
“The other champions, the sky’s the limit. You’re never done in boxing. Yes, I’d like to fight O’Shaquie Foster. We fought in the amateurs before. I won, but that’s different. That doesn’t mean anything in the professionals.
“I don’t want to disrespect no fighter out there by saying that, but what I’m trying to say is I’ve met him before, and he’s [Foster] got the WBC belt. Everyone wants that WBC belt. Everyone wants the green belt.
“That’s what we want. I want to become a world champion again. I’m not just training here to become the International champion or NABF champion. No disrespect to those championships. We want the best. The WBO, WBC, IBF, and WBA.
“The sky’s the limit. We want all those belts, but for that to happen, I’m already getting ahead of myself. I’ve got to go against Adam Lopez to finish him first.
“My answer is yes,” said Valdez when asked if WBO super featherweight champion Emmanuel Navarrete will get countered by him if he throws his uppercut from the outside like he’s been doing in all of his fights.
“I want to influence the new generation in the same way they influenced me,” said Valdez about Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. “Every time I see Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, I let them know that the person that I am, the type of fighter that I am, is thanks to them because they gave us such great fights.
“You will never hear me saying that I’m going to give up an Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera fight because I feel like that’s disrespect to my idols. They’re my idols, and I call it that.
“There was a time where I can give the fans a fight they want; it would be a fight like them. But my last words will be everyone tune in this year. It has to be this year. It’s been up and down throughout my whole career. I want to thank everybody who has truly been with me.
“You learn in boxing that when you win, everyone is with you, but when something small happens, a lot of people turn their back on you. When you lose, it’s a lonely sport. But those fans that have been with me and my family members that have been with me and my fans that have been with me.
“I’m going to fight and try to give you guys what you want, which is good fights. So thank you, everybody. Tune in and I’m going to be at my best,” said Valdez.
