On the night of May 1, in Las Vegas (USA), the hegemon of the second featherweight (up to 59 kg) will be determined – in the face-to-face confrontation, the leaders of the division, world champions Oscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) from Mexico and Shakur Stevenson (17-0 , 9 KOs) from the USA.
Observers and bookmakers consider WBO champion Stevenson a clear favorite. It is assumed that the owner of the WBC belt, Valdez, should not compete with his opponent in boxing skills, but rather try to impose a power confrontation – about this and not only in our preview and forecast.
Here is a candidate for membership International Boxing Hall of Fame Timothy Bradley asks not to rush to conclusions.
He considersthat Stevenson’s task is much more difficult than it is commonly said: “Firstly, Valdez has his signature left hook. Do not count how many times this particular blow helped him turn the tide in his favor. No chance for Valdes? Fuck! And what if Shakur suddenly allows himself to relax even for a second, or does he feel too self-confident? No, I don’t think he will allow himself to. But, on the other hand, it is very real. After all, he wants not just to win, but to demonstrate the brightest performance. All his thoughts now are only about one thing: “I want to become a star!” And at such moments he is very vulnerable.
“Oscar is one of those who sometimes goes to the exchange,” Bradley continues the thought. “And that, too, is a danger to Stevenson. It seems to him that Valdez has opened up, he delivers his blow to the target, and then it turns out that he, too, flew in response. He didn’t even see where. This damn left hook comes out of such incredible positions… And it’s so good, so accurate and dangerous. How will Stevenson react to this? And here is another point! We do not know. We’ve seen Oscar in similar situations. Damn, this dude fought Scott Quigg with a broken jaw for almost 10 rounds. Is Shakur capable of such a thing?
“So far, we can only assume that this fighting dog lives not only in Valdez, but also in Stevenson. He keeps talking about it all the time. But we know what to say – not toss bags. And only the ring will show how Shakur will react to some critical situation. My forecast? I don’t know. But if Valdez hits, then we will find out very soon. Don’t forget that they are both very smart. They both know how to adapt to each other. They are both Olympians,” recalls Bradley.
The other day, Stevenson suddenly brought up the topic of racism in boxing: “We wouldn’t be allowed to do this.” The favorite is sure of victory: “The world will love me! I will become a PPV superstar!”
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