NOW UNIFIED: Shakur Stevenson Defeats Oscar Valdez

A superstar was born. WBO junior
lightweight world champion *Shakur Stevenson *outboxed and outfoxed WBC
champion *Oscar Valdez *via unanimous decision (118-109 2x and 117-110)
Saturday evening in from of 10,102 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. With
the win, Stevenson earned the Ring Magazine title and status as the
division’s top dog.

Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) established the southpaw jab in the early going,
and Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) could not get his offense going outside of
pockets of success in the third round. In the sixth, Stevenson spun Valdez
into the ropes and knocked him down with a right hand.

It was all Stevenson in the second half of the fight, who built an
insurmountable lead on the cards. Valdez won the 12th round on all three
judges’ cards, but it was too little, too late. Stevenson asserted his
dominance and is now the 130-pound king.

Stevenson said, “This victory means everything. I told ya’ll what I was
going to do. I said I’m gonna beat Valdez, Canelo and Eddy Reynoso, so that
was my game plan, beat the whole team and I feel good about it. Much
respect to them, but that was my game plan.

“I want to collect all the belts at 130 and become undisputed. I deserve to
be a superstar, so that’s what I gotta do.”

“He did what he had to do to win the fight,” Valdez said. “He’s a great
fighter. His speed is there. Power is there. He was just he better fighter
tonight. Overall, a great fighter.”

*Davis Knocks out Sanchez*

The future of the lightweight division, Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn
Davis, battered Mexican veteran Esteban Sanchez (18-2, 8 KOs) en route to
sixth-round TKO in the co-feature. Sanchez provided some resistance, but
Davis (5-0, 4 KOs) wore down his foe round by round. He landed 56.8 percent
of his power shots, including 34 of 53 in the sixth round.

Davis said, “He’s a great fighter, and I didn’t realize that until the
first round. I said, ‘Whoa, he can fight!’ I knew I had to snap into a
different Keyshawn. He’s a great fighter, a real respectful fighter. Hat’s
off to Esteban Sanchez. Thank you for this opportunity. We should see a lot
of Esteban Sanchez in the future.

“I just kept staying steady, staying with my rhythm. My coach, {Brian
McIntyre}, kept telling me to go the body. I was trying to stab him a lot
in the rounds, and honestly, I was just picking up round after round. I
loved this fight because it challenged me. I felt challenged in the ring. I
was happy I got a great performance and the stoppage.”

*Ali Walsh Destroys Ibarra*

The youngster with the famous last name, middleweight prospect Nico Ali
Walsh, ignited the MGM Grand with a brutal first-round knockout over
Alejandro Ibarra (7-2, 2 KOs). Ali Walsh (5-0, 4 KOs), the grandson of The
Greatest, ended matters with a sweeping right hand.

Ali Walsh said, “I was setting him up with the right hand. I noticed his
left hand was going down when he threw the jab. I was trying to counter it,
and that’s what I did. I wish the best for him and his team. He’s a true
warrior. But I just waited for that setup, and I saw it and I took
advantage.”

*Lightweight: *Raymond Muratalla (14-0, 12 KOs) KO 3 Jeremy Hill (16-3, 11
KOs), 2:23. Enter the danger zone. “Danger” Muratalla became the first man
to stop New Orleans native Hill, finishing the fight with a crunching right
hand.

*Junior Lightweight: *Andres Cortes (17-0, 10 KOs) KO 6 Alexis del Bosque
(18-6-1, 9 KOs). Cortes, a Las Vegas, native, put on a show for the
hometown fans, knocking down Cortes twice in a brutal power punching
display. A three-punch combination dropped del Bosque in the sixth. After
rising to his feet gingerly, the fight was halted.

*Middleweight*: Troy Isley (5-0, 3 KOs) TKO 2 Anthony Hannah (3-3, 2 KOs).
U.S. Olympian Isley savaged Hannah with body blows, putting his overmatched
foe down for the count with a right hand to the gut. Earlier in the second,
he knocked down Hannah with a left hook to the body.

*Lightweight: *Abdullah Mason (2-0, 2 KOs) TKO 1 Luciano Ramos (1-3), 2:32.
The 18-year-old Mason, from Cleveland, Ohio, showed why he is one of the
sport’s young prodigies with a first-round blitzing of Argentina’s Ramos.
Referee Tony Weeks stopped the carnage after an assortment of lefts and
rights left Ramos defenseless.

*Welterweight: *Jaylan Phillips (1-2-1, 1 KO) DRAW 4 Antoine Cobb (1-0-1, 1
KO). Scores: 39-37 Phillips and 38-38 2x. Phillips spoiled the spotless
record of Cobb with a determined effort, sweeping the last the two rounds
on the judges’ cards to earn a draw.