One of the year’s most anticipated boxing unification battles takes place Saturday. The fight features two undefeated champions, both in the prime of their careers and eager to become the top dog of their division.
The bitter rivalry between champions Oscar Valdez and Shakur Stevenson will come to a head in a 12-round super featherweight championship main event at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main event is scheduled to start at 2:25 p.m.; it will air on ESPN+ and on Top Rank’s YouTube channel.
The Nogales, Sonora-born and Tucson-bred Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) said the fight is a wish that has become reality. He said he’s ready to to prove he is the best fighter in the 130-pound division.
Valdez won the WBC super featherweight strap after knocking out Miguel Berchelt in spectacular fashion at the start of 2021, which was awarded KO of the Year by Sports Illustrated. The fighter went on to successfully defend the title against Robson Conceicao in Tucson last September.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I would be dreaming of these kinds of opportunities, to be fighting for the unified world championship,” Valdez said. “I’m just very excited right now to be in this mega-fight and I can’t wait. I’m anxious to step into the ring.”
The 31-year-old WBC champ is being trained by legendary boxing coach Eddy Reynoso and regularly works out alongside Reynoso’s protege, middleweight unified champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez. While Valdez said he appreciates having the opportunity to train with a Alvarez, winning is far from a sure thing. Saturday’s fight will ultimately come down to “who has the bigger heart inside the ring.”
Oscar Valdez has been training with boxing star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez leading up to Saturday's fight.
In the months leading up to this unification bout, New Jersey WBO champ Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) claimed on social media Valdez has been avoiding him ever since they were in the featherweight division a few years ago. During that time, both fighters also held titles but a unification fight never materialized.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum originally planned for Valdez was to defend his title against Emanuel Navarrete and wanted Stevenson to face former unified lightweight champ Teófimo López. However, the promoter chose to make the Valdez vs. Stevenson fight happen instead soon after the 24-year-old accused Arum of “protecting Valdez” in a social media post.
“I felt like (Valdez) didn’t want to fight me at 126 pounds and now we here at 130 pounds. He was trying to fight Navarrete before fighting me, but we’re here now,” Stevenson said at the event’s final press conference. “The fight is here and I’m ready to fight.”
The 2016 US Olympic silver medalist trains under New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame coach Wali Moses and worked with welterweight champ Terrance “Bud” Crawford during his training camp leading up to the fight. However, he said there’s a huge difference between him sparring with Crawford for a few weeks and Valdez regularly working with Canelo.
“He has had Canelo with him every step of the way. Canelo is right there next to him telling (Valdez) how to hook, jab and just with each other every step of the way,” Stevenson said. “So when I beat (Valdez), I’m going to feel good beating him, Canelo and Eddy Reynoso’s whole team.”
Sautrday’s winner will be named the WBC and WBO super featherweight champ while also earning the prestigious Ring Magazine belt. He’ll be ranked the undisputed champ at 130 pounds by the publication and the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. It will be the first time to happen in that weight class since 2008, when Manny Pacquiao unified the belts.
Valdez grew up in Tucson and began his boxing journey with local trainer Brad Carlton at the now-razed Roger Williams Westside Youth Center in the early 2000s. Carlton said he remembers doing “mitt work” with a 10-year-old Valdez. The boy possessed incredible focus and determination to become a better boxer, Carlton said.
“His determination in the ring was amazing when he was a kid. I would see how focused he was on figuring it out between rounds when I would (work in his) corner,” Carlton said. “Whether he was leading in the round or behind in the round, he was always focused on getting better.”
In those early days, Carlton said Valdez would often wear a bright orange Phoenix Suns jersey to the point other kids at the youth center made fun of him. The trainer would notice Valdez was bothered by the razzing but still continued to frequently wear the jersey.
“One day I just asked him, ‘Why do you wear it every time if they’re just going to clown you like that?’. He said to me, ‘Because this jersey makes me feel like a professional athlete and that’s what I’m going to be,’” Carlton said. “He is one of those guys who is like, ‘Coach, if you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late. Right?”
Valdez regularly drops by Carlton’s eastside gym whenever he is in Tucson to visit his mother. He spent several weeks with the trainer before heading off to join Reynoso in preparation for Stevenson. When asked who he thought was going to win Saturday’s unification bout, Carlton pointed to Valdez’s 77% knockout rate in the 31-year-old’s undefeated professional boxing career.
“The reason I think (Valdez) will prevail, all bias aside, is because of his laser-like focus on the goal,” Carlton said. “He’s had 30 fights where he’s proven every time he is the best man in the ring and has more knockouts in his career than Shakur has had wins.”
