Stevenson vs. Conceicao Preview
The WBC and WBO junior lightweight titles will be on the line Friday September 23 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Champion Shakur Stevenson will defend his belts in his hometown against hopeful contender Robson Conceicao.
Stevenson (18-0, 9 KO) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Oscar Valdez in April where he won the WBC belt. He will be defending both belts for the first time on Friday and he is ready to put on a show for his hometown crowd. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time. This is a big milestone in my career. I’m fully prepared, I’m ready,” said Stevenson.
The 25-year-old is former two-weight world champion and he is prepared for the added pressure and advantage of fighting in Newark. “I’m putting my city on my back and my fans on my back. Come September 23rd; I’m going to show out and put on an amazing performance.
I don’t feel like I’m facing an undefeated fighter. He let his foot off the gas in that fight, and that’s the price he got to pay for it,” Stevenson said of Conceicao.
“You leave it close in the judges’ hands, you can’t cry and call robbery. He showed ways that he can be beat. I think he showed his true colors in that fight. He let his foot off the gas pedal in the sixth round, and he did it in a couple of other fights.
Stevenson went on to explain, “What’s the guy’s name that Robert Garcia trains? He did it in that fight too. He just seemed like an amateur. Amateurs that come into the pros, they show a lot of skills and ability, but nine times out of ten, they be frontrunners at that time.”
“I am going to be the first person to dominate him. I know I’m going to dominate him. He’s a good fighter and has a difficult style. He’s good at being difficult, but I don’t see him beating me.”
Aside from Valdez, Stevenson has key victories over Jamel Herring, Joet Gonzalez, Alberto Guevara and Christopher Diaz. He has been more aggressive in his last two fights than we have seen out of him previously along with showing his signature speed and reflexes. Will he bring the same pace-pushing style to a Conceicao who typically does not move forward like Valdez did in his last fight?
Conceicao won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics at lightweight where he became the first Brazilian to win a gold medal in boxing. He is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Xavier Martinez in January. The fight was a big rebound after falling short in his first title fight losing to Oscar Valdez by unanimous decision in 2021, his only loss.
The 33-year-old is a technical boxer who uses his jab and he stays on the outside. Stevenson has proven he is too quick and hard to hit for that style to work against him which he has typically exploited in the later rounds of fights. Will Conceicao get more aggressive and try to take the fight to the champion? To be successful he is going to have to do more than he showed against Valdez when he last fought for a title. If he can set traps and land a few power rights, it could throw Stevenson off his game, and we could have a true fight on our hands. But for Conceicao, that will be much easier said than done.
The fight can be seen on ESPN+ @ 10:00pm ET
