Shakur Stevenson Plays PED Mind Games with Oscar Valdez!
On April 30, WBO super featherweight champion “Fearless” Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KO’s) will take on WBC 130-pound champion Oscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KO’s). The two will collide in the belly of the MGM Grand located in Las Vegas. For Stevenson, this scrap will come as a great relief as he has sought this bout for years and over two divisions.
Despite being top fighters in the same division, and in the same Top Rank stable, Fearless was unable to secure the fight until now. Throughout the entire time that he wanted the fight, Stevenson regularly took to his social media to call out the Mexican.
Now that they have a match set to go, Fearless is not letting his Twitter thumbs cool off, whatsoever! Rather than calling for the duel however, the New Jersey native has repurposed his focus to playing mind games.
ONE LIE SPOILS A THOUSANDS TRUTHS
Two assignments ago, Valdez snagged his flashiest and most meaningful professional knockout versus Miguel Berchelt. After timing him perfectly, Oscar Valdez obliterated Berchelt with a masterfully placed A-bomb of a left hook. It was so spectacular that it was even selected 3Kings Boxing’s Knockout of the Year.
Video footage of the devastating finish flooded social media outlets and earned Valdez a whole new level of respect. The good times were short lived. Heading into his very next fight with Robson Conceicao, Valdez popped dirty with Phentermine.
Even though the dirty sample was bad enough, the situation was made more severe by two other major factors. With that being Valdez attempted to blame the flagged result on drinking tea, but failed to supply or identify what the tea in question was. Naturally, there was a great deal of backlash aimed at Valdez before his dustup with Conceicao. The second issue that drew additional backlash was his lack of punishment.
Stranded on the overtly negative side of public opinion however, Valdez was certainly adversely affected by the scorn. Once in the ring, the Mexican had a rather tough time with the Brazilian who entered the match with #13 (WBO) and #14 (WBC) rankings. Instead of dominating in style, he had to dig deep to come from behind. Now, Stevenson is not going to let Valdez forget about that difficult trial.
WILL PRESSURE BUST PIPES?
It will be interesting to see how persistent Stevenson is or isn’t in regards to taking future shots at Valdez as their prizefight continues to draw nearer. Especially, if he concentrates on his foe’s drug infraction. It will also be revealing to see how the Mexican reacts to the needling by Fearless.
Will he block it out or use it for fuel, or will he become untethered? If so, he could very well fight the same unfocused, rage-driven style that Teofimo Lopez utilized against George Kambosos. Stevenson is certainly not an opponent you want to battle with a head full of shadows and detrimental distractions. In the end though, who knows how it will play out? No one really, yet it should be a fun ride to watch it all unfold!
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By: Bakari Simpson
