Shakur Stevenson Defeats Robson Conceicao, KeyShawn Picks Up the Win
Shakur Stevenson lost his junior lightweight world titles on the scale
Thursday afternoon. He wasn’t about to lose the fight. Stevenson
bested Robson Conceição by 12-round unanimous decision (117-109 2x and
118-108) in front of 10,107 fans Friday evening at Prudential Center, the
largest crowd ever to attend a boxing event at the arena.Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) landed a career-high 199 punches, including a body
shot knockdown in the fourth round. He stunned Conceição (17-2, 8 KOs) in
the sixth, but the Brazilian challenger hung tough. Stevenson had a point
deducted by referee David Fields for hip tossing Conceição in the ninth
round.After the inauspicious ninth, Stevenson closed the show in pound-for-pound
form, winning the final three rounds on all three judges’ cards. After
missing weight by 1.6 pounds the previous day, Stevenson will now begin his
lightweight journey. Undisputed champion Devin Haney sits atop the
135-pound heap, with big names like Vasiliy Lomachenko also in play.
“I had a long week. 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,” Stevenson
said. “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!”
*Down to “Business”*
Rising lightweight Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis, who captured a silver
medal at the Tokyo Olympics, stopped Mexican veteran Omar Tienda in the
fifth round in a career-best performance.
Davis (6-0, 5 KOs) set the tone in the first round, outlanding Tienda 15-5.
He kept the pressure on and ended matters in swift fashion in the fifth. He
knocked down Tienda with a right hand, who appeared alert as he rose to his
feet.
Davis then unleashed a torrent of left hooks that staggered Tienda (25-6,
18 KOs). That prompted referee Earl Brown to stop the carnage. Davis had to
withdraw from a pair of fights earlier this year with a stomach ailment,
but he now has a clean bill of health. He hopes to return in December to
close out a successful second year in the pro ranks.
Davis said, “Honestly, it felt like a dream come true. I couldn’t believe I
got a chance to perform {on a card of this} magnitude again being that I
was out with health issues. I didn’t really know what to expect in myself,
but I always said since I went pro, God has me. And he definitely had me
tonight.
“We’re working toward becoming a contender. My next fight will put me in
that process faster. Then next year, we’re definitely going to be
contending, and we’re going to be top 10, for sure.”
*Junior Lightweight: *Henry Lebron (17-0, 10 KOs) UD 8 Andy Vences (23-4-1,
12 KOs), Scores: 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74. Lebron, one of Puerto Rico’s top
prospects, picked up the most meaningful win of his career with a
convincing showing over the longtime contender. Vences, who has now lost
three straight, pressed the action in the opening round. Lebron, a southpaw
stylist, opened a cut over Vences’ right eye and tagged the San Jose native
with vicious straight lefts. Vences, an 11-year-pro, was just a step too
slow against his fresher foe.
*Featherweight*: Bruce Carrington (5-0, 3 KOs) UD 6 Jose Argel (9-5, 3
KOs), Scores: 60-54 3x. “Shu Shu” Carrington, the latest prodigy from
Brownsville, Brooklyn, could not put away the durable Chilean, but he
banked valuable rounds in going the six-round distance for the first time.
Argel has only been knocked out once as a pro and provided an ample target
for Carrington, who worked off the jab and tagged him with left hooks and
right uppercuts.
*Junior Middleweight*: Pablo Valdez (7-0, 6 KOs) KO 4 Noe Alejandro Lopez
(11-6-1, 4 KOs), 2:45. “The King of New York” thrilled his large fan
contingent that traveled across the Hudson River, knocking down Lopez three
times en route to the stoppage. The third and final knockdown was a left
look to the liver that forced Lopez to spit out his mouthpiece.
*Welterweight:* Jahi Tucker (9-0, 5 KOs) UD 8 Jose Luis Sanchez (11-3-1, 4
KOs), Scores: 80-72 2x and 79-73. Long Island native Tucker could not stop
the durable Sanchez, but he went the eight-round distance for the first
time in his career. Tucker stunned Sanchez in the opening round, but
Sanchez, the younger brother of former world title challenger Jason
Sanchez, weathered the early storm and provided the 19-year-old phenom with
a stern test.
*Featherweight*: Misael Lopez (14-1, 5 KOs) UD 8 Orlando Gonzalez (18-2, 11
KOs), Scores: 77-75, 78-74 and 79-73. Upset alert. Lopez, who fights out of
Denver, Colorado, won his third straight bout and announced himself as a
featherweight contender on the rise. Gonzalez fell to 1-2 in his last three
bouts after starting his career 17-0.
*Junior Featherweight*: Floyd Diaz (7-0, 2 KOs) UD 6 Juan Hernandez
(2-2-1), Scores: 58-55 2x and 59-54. Diaz emerged victorious in a firefight
that was the most taxing of his young career. He knocked down Hernandez at
the end of the third round but ran out of time to notch the knockout. The
final half of the bout went back and forth, as Hernandez had pockets of
success fighting at close range. Diaz stunned Hernandez with an uppercut in
the sixth to put a bow on his performance.
*Welterweight*: Antoine Cobb (1-0-2, 1 KO) DRAW 4 Jaylan Phillips (1-2-2, 1
KO). Scores: 40-36 Cobb, 39-37 Phillips and 38-38. It was déjà vu, as Cobb
and Phillips fought to their second draw of the year. It was a rematch of
their April bout, and once again, the judges were split. Phillips stunned
Cobb in the fourth round, but that was not enough to swing the rematch in
his favor.
