Former two-division world champion Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) scored a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision over Robson Conceição (17-2, 8 KOs) on Friday night before a record crowd of 10,107 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Stevenson walked down Conceição all night, dropping him in round four. Stevenson was deducted a point for throwing Conceição to the canvas in round nine. Scores were 117-109, 118-108, 117-109.
Stevenson missed the 130-pound weight limit by 1.6 pounds on Thursday and was stripped of his WBC and WBO world titles, so only Conceição was eligible to win the titles with a victory.
“I had a long week,” stated Stevenson afterward. “I killed myself to make weight. All I want to do is come in here and perform. I did everything I could to do that.
“I’m just a dominating individual. With me versus him, the ref, I did everything I could to try and beat {Conceicao} up as much as I could. He held me the whole night, but I did everything I could. I think he was doing a lot of holding whenever I was getting on the inside. As soon as I got on the inside, he grabbed me.
“We gotta fight the champ. Me and Devin {Haney}, we could lock in. After he fights Kambosos, let’s get it on…I’ll fight Lomachenko, too!”
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum added, “Shakur was marvelous as always, and he was in there tonight against a tough fighter in Robson Conceicao. There are so many great fights for Shakur at lightweight. The Newark crowd was spectacular, and we look forward to many more great fight nights in this arena.”
Sound like a very exciting fight. Lmao
Stevenson is super boring. I will bring my alarm clock next time. At 135, he will have major trouble against Cruz, Davis, and Garcia. Major trouble.
Don’t bring your alarm clock, don’t watch him. Why would you waste hour time watching a guy who’s boring? Wishing and hoping he will lose perhaps?
not boring, just in a class by himself.
He wasn’t “boring” when he took apart Valdez lol
Keyshawn would destroy Shakur.
Conceicao has a very interesting way of throwing punches. Looks like he slapped with almost every punch.
Really bizarre. An Olympic gold medalist that can’t throw a straight punch. He did land some of those awkward punches later in the fight, however.
He landed some early too but, punching like that, I can’t imagine there was much force at all behind his shots.
Agreed. I don’t recall when I have seen such poor form by a title challenger. His punching mechanics and balance were beyond bad, but at least he went the distance.
135 had a new player, the only thing I am concerned about is Shakurs power …I need to see it, not that power is everything but it doesn’t hurt to have
great fighter, but not in a great division (130), and his power is just ok. we’ll see what kind of run he can make against bigger and better fighters.
First time watching a boxing card in 2 years. Watched it because the UFC wasn’t on. This main event was why I watch MMA. Freaking boring game of tag
Most MMA guys can’t break an egg!
Get in there with Francis ngannou and then I’ll ask
I fell asleep after the 3rd round.
The ESPN commentators trying pimp Stevenson as something special was embarrassing as hell. He sure got hit a lot for such a “defensively skilled” fighter. He clearly won the fight, but it was far from a dominate performance.
Couldn’t agree more. I also thought it was insulting how they pretty much gave him a free pass for missing weight. They were almost defensive about going so far as to point out how well he handled the situation. To hear thrm call the fight you’d think we were watching Roberto Duran or Wilfred Benitez.
They shoukd all be embarrassed how much blatant bias they use in calling for the house fighter. Another ex: the heaps of praise on Carrington. I know he injured his hand. Even before that it was an average performance at best.
The PBC announcers and tge espn crew are sales men, not boxing commentators.
Agreed, ESPN is bottom of the barrel when it comes to legit boxing commentary.
ESPN’s fight commentators sure make me miss the old USA cable network’s Tuesday Night Fights with Sean O’Grady & Al Albert!
For a fighter who got rob againsi Oscar Valdez he shakur fought their way comings forward both fighters said they where going to knock him out and he’s doing it to take the test of boxing sluggers their way for the next weight and listen he don’t fight every one the same
He may not have a fan-friendly style but Stevenson is going to be very, very tough to beat. At 135 I can only think of Davis because of his verstilty.
I think Davis won’t be able to box with him but he could land that big shot. Haney and Loma will both have their hands full but they could possibly pull it off.
Stevenson will not have a chance to fight Davis. Davis is managed by Al Hayman and most of his fighters only fight once a year and very seldom the top contenders. A prime example is Errol Spence!
Stevenson came forward the whole night pressing the action against a guy who fought in reverse and held most of the night when they were close yet HE was boring. No negative remarks for Robson, nope. Only for Stevenson. He beat the brakes off the guy who was robbed against Valdez in his last fight.
Concecao spent most of the night flopping on the canvas. He will be a problem for ANYBODY at 135 including Davis. From what I see in the landscape at 135 he can hold his own with all of them in some competitive fights.
I completely agree. It’s like Stevenson was the only one in the ring. What did and did not happen was all on him. He fought an olympic gold medalist who a lot of people felt should be an undefeated world champion. Shame on him for missing his weight, but I think he at least did ALRIGHT in the fight.
Maybe his opponent was drained from actually making weight………. Easier to dominate a fight when you don’t make weight. Needs to be harsher penalties for putting your opponent through – what you won’t go through.
Shakur tried too hard while having zero discipline. Smiling was his plan and he excelled. The pivoting and beating up part he sucked at. He could do it but was practicing his “I want to fight at 135” speech , while playing ping pong. He is a study in the sweet science? Duran would kill him at 135. Nuff said.
I miss the days of Julio Cesar Chavez, Ray Mancini, Hector “Macho” Camacho, Livingstone Bramble, Edwin Rosario, Roger Mayweather, etc. Those are my comments about the Stevenson fight!
Yes Nordic…Killers in the ring.,.studied a young Hector Camacho…crazy hand speed …great footwork…a young Chavez….oya…on your ass … relentless… underated defensive skills..just don’t see fighters like this anymore…
List has to include Aaron Pryor..fighters aforementioned still to date fun to watch old fights…study…just watching those fighters…even today..will teach fans not to be fooled by “fluff”….those guys could flat out bring it…great take Nordic…
ESPN hyping this guy is a joke ..Floyd mayweather and Oscar de la Hoya were knocking everyone out in their lowest weight classes and at a younger age ..they got a little boring when they moved up 2 weight classes..this guy sucks at his original weight and is already 25..
hometown win for shakur great sell job by the announcers shakur will get destroyed by navaratte at 135 and loma would just beat down shakur i wonder how many points shakur got for the mma takedowns he gets frustrated very easy
Would love to see him against Lomo!! He would literally outclass Haney
He took care of the #12 fighter pretty easily but he will have to be at the top of his game vs the best lightweights. Robson got through because he knows the various tricks to survive, but his wild hooks were easy for shakur to avoid. The boxing ability is solid but I have a lot of questions about him going up vs haney and loma. I don’t think he has the power to hurt them, so he has to put on a boxing master class to win. Sure, he can win vs many contenders but at 135 there are real challenges.
Stevenson will definitely receive plenty of challenges at 135, so he will have to deliver stiffer jabs for distance. Because Stevenson’s power is only stinging (at best), he will need to get more adjusted to inside fighting, while maintaining his composure.
I am looking forward to seeing how Stevenson’s body/physical strength develops at 135. I have a good feeling Stevenson will perform quite well at 135. However, in order to properly adjust at 135, Stevenson’s camp should arrange a few fights with lower to middle ranked opponents before he takes on big challenges at 135.
If you call a man who boxes boring, then your not a fan of pugilism, so your comments aren’t valid.
This is a BOXING forum.
Styles make fights. Shakur is clearly special. He has everything Haney has plus more!
He has a mean streak in him that is reminiscent of Bud Crawford, where he really wants to punish his opponents. His intentions are sinister!
Those extra 5 pounds will do him justice. In my opinion there’s not a fighter at 135 that can beat him. The kid is really that good and we haven’t even seen his best yet!
The name of the game is hit and try not to get hit, this isn’t rock em sock em robots. It’s not about strength or power, it’s about will and skill, nuts and guts, It’s about mental fortitude!
Knockouts are exciting! BUT ANY HUMAN BEING CAN BE SEPARATED FROM HIS SENSES, It’s science!
What’s more impressive is a grown man breaking the will of his opponent with skullduggery and I.Q. There’s nowhere to hide in that squared circle. You can’t fake it in the ring.
There’s no such thing as a soft puncher. ALL PUNCHES TO YOUR FACE HURT!!!! Especially over a period of time. I’d rather get punched once and ko’d than to get pummeled repetitively for 45 mins!!!!!
What’s power if you can’t hit your adversary cleanly?
It looks a lot easier from the couch guys! TRUSSSSST ME!!!!
You’d have a lot more respect if you knew what an 8oz glove at full speed tasted like!!!!
Shakur has no punch now, so 4 lbs won’t help. Shakur is good at using his laces. I have seen him do it every time and not one ref has warned him. Robson should not be rated in the top 20.
Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker was a slick southpaw & master at his craft, and I would never turn off one of his fights. But I did, however, turn off last night’s fight early & go to sleep
If he’s so special why can’t he make weight ? Why put your opponent through a weight cut that you won’t do yourself ? Let him move up fight & Tank who decides fk weight classes and come in at 137
Ike….everyone has an opinion .., whether it is agreeable or else…just an opinion…I understand yours …though it is not unreasonable for fans to expect more from Shakur…Shakur is touted, promoted as this “special” fighter.,hyped by many including the network. …while very athletic…not unreasonable to expect certain attributes to be associated with the “special” title.,..Don’t you expect the Number 1..draft pick of any sport to be spectacular? Would be disappointed if the athlete did not meet expectations or the hype…Can you honestly say that Shakur has performed like promoted…no doubt a champion but we are waiting to see that stuff…that made Ray Leonard, Ray Robinson, Aaron Pryor, Hector Camacho….can you honestly say that Shakur shows something at this stage of Shakur’s career that suggest that he on the level of the aforementioned fighters? understand the comments on this post wanting more…while not all are boxing purist, and I am careful about that label….based on our expectations and perceptions of a “special” fighter ….it is up to the Shakur to seize the moment…deliver the goods.., questionable whether that has occurred
Just can’t understand why everyone thinks 135 is suddenly going to produce all these “mega name fights” now. They fight more on social media than the ring. Deep talent division, but ffs fellas time to put up or shut up!
Stevenson clearly won. Conceicao lost his form by the middle of the fight but hung on to the end. I would have liked Stevenson to vary the intensity of his punches and thrown much more of them because Conceicao got used to the hard single shots and could brace himself for the hits. Nevertheless, Shakur was dominant after the first round on. Conceicao is still a good boxer but Stevenson made him look ordinary.
Stevenson is not a KO artist, but his punches are sharp and accurate. He has enough power to keep the opponent honest and at a distance. He is still hard to hit but doesn’t move much to slip punches and counter. His defense and economy of motion are what distinguish him from the rest of the top fighters. He’ll be a nightmare for anyone in the lightweight division.
He is so boring he may be the
answer for those with imsomnia.
Not a fan of Stevenson. “I’m just a dominating individual”, he says. Another Broner. He will have to earn my respect in the ring, facing more talented opposition.
I think fighters should bring the right weight on fight day, Shakur boxed nice and dominating, but he also looked way bigger. its a 130 lbs title so they should not weigh more (at least like in the morning of fighting day)
I refuse to watch ESPN without Teddy Atlas.