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By Arne K. Lang
LAS VEGAS -- Heading into tonight’s match with Oscar Valdez at the MGM Grand, Shakur Stevenson had engaged in 17 pro fights and, in total, he had won virtually every round. And that’s why the Stevenson-Valdez fight was so compelling, because no one knew how Shakur would react when he finally faced adversity. Valdez, on the other hand, was no stranger to adversity. He had been in a number of tough fights (Scott Quigg broke his jaw in 2018), but he had never failed to come out on top. Yes, two world title belts would be at stake in this 130-pound showdown, but the allure was in the style match-up, not in the belts.
When the smoke cleared, Stevenson, 24, performed as he had in the past. Valdez had his moments early, especially in round three, but Shakur was faster and busier and won with room to spare. The judges had it 117-110 and 118-109 twice. In the sixth, he scored the bout's lone knockdown, catching Valdez off-balance with his back half-way turned around after an errant counter-punch. Valdez's rump landed on the bottom strand of ropes and it was properly ruled a knockdown.
Stevenson was first out of his corner at the start of every round, sometimes beating Valdez to the center of the ring by what seemed like a good eight seconds. In the waning moments of the fight he bicycled around the ring in triumph, much to the disgruntlement of the pro-Valdez crowd.
ESPN Undercard
Keyshawn Davis, the best of the 2020/21 U.S. Olympic crop, improved to 5-0 (4 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of Mexico’s gritty Esteban Sanchez (18-2). Sanchez landed a few good shots that had Davis fighting off his back foot but absorbed a lot of punishment before the bout was halted at the 2:44 mark of round six.
In the most impressive showing of his young career, Las Vegas middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson, pulverized Denver’s Alejandro Salinas, knocking him out with a two-punch combination – a sweeping left followed by a sweeping right – in the opening round. Salinas went down hard and had to be helped to get back to his stool. Walsh, 21, improved to 5-0 (4). Salinas was 7-1 heading in but hadn’t defeated an opponent with a winning record.
Other Bouts
In the final bout of the ESPN+ appetizer, Fontana, CA lightweight Raymond Muratalla slugged his way to a third-round stoppage of New Orleans’ Jeremy Hill. Muratalla (14-0 12 KOs) strafed Hill (16-3) with a profusion of hard punches before knocking Hill flat on his back with a straight right hand that brought the bout to a swift conclusion. The official time was 2:27 of round three. Hill hadn’t previously been stopped.
Las Vegas super featherweight Andres Cortes, who entered the contest in excellent form, won his fourth straight fight inside the distance with a sixth-round stoppage of Tex-Mex campaigner Alexis del Bosque. A four-punch combination, climaxed by a chopping right hand, sent del Bosque (18-6-1) pitching forward. He beat the count, but on rubbery legs, and the fight was waived off. Cortes advanced to 17-0 (10).
In a middleweight contest slated for six, Keyshawn Davis’s Olympic teammate Troy Isley improved to 5-0 (3 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Anthony Hannah (3-3). Isley had Hannah on the deck twice with body punches. Hannah showed no inclination to rise after the second knockdown and the referee waived it off before completing his count. The official time was 2:33.
Eighteen-year-old Cleveland lightweight Abdullah Mason (2-0, 2 KOs) stopped Argentina import Luciano Ramos (1-3) in the opening round. Mason was hitting Ramos against the ropes with nothing coming back when referee Tony Weeks intervened. The official time was 2:34.
In the lid-lifter of the eight-bout card, welterweights Antoine Cobb (1-0-1) and Jaylan Phillips (1-2-1) fought four rounds to a draw. The general impression was that Phillips, the “B-side” fighter from the flyspeck town of Ebro, Florida, had done enough to merit the decision.
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