Shakur Stevenson Doesn’t Plan Tactical Fighting Rosin Conceicao

September 22, 2022

Shakur Stevenson expected Victor Valdez to easily defeat Robson Conceicao but was drawn to reality when the former world title holder was dominating their fight back in September 2021.

Valdez was able to get his game back, showing his skill and precision in attacks that eventually saw him emerge victorious, handing Conceicao the only defeat in his professional career. Stevenson will face the Brazilian in a few days but still wonders what game plan Valdez had for that fight.

Stevenson has tried to put together reasons why Valdez seemed to slow down after a very perfect start in the fight and feels, the fight would almost have ended a draw.

“Me, personally, I felt like he let off the gas,” said Stevenson during an interview with BoxingScene.com. “He came out blazing in the first couple of rounds, he came out on fire basically. And as the fight went on, I don’t know if he gassed out but he started moving too much. He started letting Valdez gain momentum and Valdez picked up the pace. I thought it could’ve been a draw.”

Valdez emerged victorious but the world title didn’t stay as he was stripped immediately after the victory. However, Conceicao has been able to bounce back from that defeat, picking up a one-sided unanimous decision over Xavier Martinez earlier this year.

On Paper, it’s expected that Stevenson just as before the Valdez fight will be a piece of cake for the Olympic Silver Medalist. However, judging from the issues Conceicao gave Valdez, Stevenson believes that the Brazilian will give him more problems that Valdez had to offer.

“Maybe,” said Stevenson when asked if Conceicao could be a more difficult opponent than Valdez. “Stylistically, he should be but at the end of the day, you gotta be able to adjust to any style. He’s gonna try to outbox me, that’s my game at the end of the day.”

Stevenson is best known for his defensive attributes and his abilities to mix the offensive underneath this defensive abilities. However, the 23 year old is looking to display his boxing skills in this one but to rough up the Brazilian and give him a one-sided beating.