EDITOR’S NOTE: Shakur Stevenson declined to weigh-in a second time and gave up his WBC and WBO 130-pound titles. He confirmed on Twitter that he will move up to the lightweight limit of 135 pounds for his next fight.
Shakur Stevenson shook his head and wouldn’t even attempt to get on the scale again Thursday afternoon at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The returning hometown hero was 1.6 pounds overweight for his 12-round, 130-pound title defense against Robson Conceicao on Friday night. Stevenson was afforded two hours to come in at 130 pounds or lower, in accordance with New Jersey State Athletic Control Board guidelines.
It was not clear when this story was posted if Stevenson is going to attempt to weigh in again or simply relinquish his WBC and WBO belts. Regardless, Conceicao can win those two titles if he upsets the heavily favored Stevenson in a main event ESPN will air from Prudential Center.
Stevenson, a Houston resident raised in Newark, stepped on the NJSACB’s scale at 131.6 pounds. Brazil’s Conceicao came in at 129.6 pounds.
Stevenson, 25, is supposed to defend his WBC and WBO 130-pound championships against Conceicao. The 33-year-old Conceicao, who won the lightweight gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, will fight for the WBC super featherweight title for the second time in barely a year.
Conceicao lost a unanimous decision to former champ Oscar Valdez in his first title shot. Mexico’s Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) conquered Conceicao by scores of 117-110, 115-112 and 115-112 in a very competitive 12-round fight last September 10 at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.
Stevenson thoroughly outclassed Valdez in the most recent bout for both boxers. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist defeated Valdez by scores of 118-109, 118-109 and 117-110 to retain his WBO junior lightweight title and took the WBC belt from Valdez on April 30 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The official weights for the eight fights on the Stevenson-Conceicao undercard are listed below.
ESPN
10 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. PT
Keyshawn Davis (5-0, 4 KOs), Norfolk, Virginia, 136.2 pounds vs. Omar Tienda (25-5, 18 KOs), Guadalupe, Mexico, 136.4 pounds, 8 rounds, junior welterweights.
ESPN+
6 p.m. ET; 3 p.m. PT
Henry Lebron (16-0, 11 KOs), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, 130 pounds vs. Andy Vences (23-3-1, 12 KOs), San Jose, California, 129.8 pounds, 8 rounds, junior lightweights.
Bruce Carrington (4-0, 3 KOs), Brooklyn, New York, 126.6 pounds vs. Jose Argel (9-4, 3 KOs), Iquique, Chile, 126.8 pounds, 6 rounds, featherweights.
Pablo Valdez (6-0, 5 KOs), Brooklyn, New York, 153.6 pounds vs. Noe Alejandro Lopez (11-5-1, 4 KOs), Jalisco, Mexico, 152.2 pounds, 6 rounds, junior middleweights.
Jahi Tucker (8-0, 5 KOs), Deer Park, New York, 147.8 pounds vs. Jose Luis Sanchez (11-2-1, 4 KOs), Albuquerque, New Mexico, 148.2 pounds, 8 rounds, junior middleweights.
Orlando Gonzalez (18-1, 11 KOs), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, 127.2 pounds vs. Misael Lopez (13-1, 5 KOs), Agua Prieta, Mexico, 126.2 pounds, 8 rounds, junior lightweights.
Floyd Diaz (6-0, 2 KOs), Bronx, New York, 122.8 pounds vs. Juan Hernandez Martinez (2-1-1, 0 KOs), Lerdo, Mexico, 123 pounds, 6 rounds, featherweights.
Antoine Cobb (1-0-1, 1 KO), Chicago, 144 pounds vs. Jaylan Philipps (1-2-1, 1 KO), Las Vegas, 141.8 pounds, 4 rounds, welterweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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