Stevenson: They Like Valdez; Me Or Any Other Fighter That's Our Color Couldn't Have Fought After Failing Test

LAS VEGAS – Shakur Stevenson still isn’t sure how Oscar Valdez was allowed to fight Robson Conceicao on September 10.

The unbeaten WBO junior lightweight champion is convinced he wouldn’t have been licensed to box that night if it had been him that tested positive for a stimulant on the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association’s list of banned substances. Phentermine was detected in Valdez’s “A” and “B” samples submitted to VADA on August 13, four weeks before he encountered Conceicao in Tucson, Arizona.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe Athletic Commission, which regulated the Valdez-Conceicao card, still approved Valdez’s license application because all state and tribal commissions that are affiliated with the Association of Boxing Commissions adhere to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s standards.

Unlike VADA, which prohibits the use of Phentermine both in and out of competition, WADA permits Phentermine out of competition. That inconsistency enabled Valdez to obtain a license to face Conceicao.

Stevenson, who will battle Valdez on Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena, views it as preferential treatment for Valdez.

“I disagreed with it,” Stevenson told BoxingScene.com. “If it was me, I feel like they would’ve banned me from boxing or some crazy stuff. I feel like they allowed him to get away with that, and I disagree fully with that.”

Stevenson said he is “not sure” if Brazil’s Conceicao would’ve been allowed to proceed with his fight versus Valdez if he had been the one to test positive for a banned substance a month before they fought.

“Probably not, though,” Stevenson said. “I don’t think so. I feel like with [Valdez[, they like Valdez, so I feel like they allowed it to happen. But I just feel like, you know, like I said me or any other fighter that’s our color, I feel like, you know, we wouldn’t be able to do that.”

When asked to clarify who he meant by “they,” Stevenson replied, “whoever was responsible for letting him go ahead and fight.”

Stevenson, 24, is a Black fighter from Newark, New Jersey. Valdez, 31, is a native of Nogales, Mexico.

Both Stevenson, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist for the United States, and Valdez, a 2012 Olympian for Mexico, have been promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. throughout their careers.

Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, condemned critics of his Mexico City-based sanctioning organization’s decision to let Valdez defend his 130-pound championship against Conceicao, despite that the WBC employs VADA to run its “Clean Boxing Program” (https://www.boxingscene.com/wbc-prez-defends-decision-sanction-oscar-valdez-vs-robson-conceicao--160380).

Valdez defeated Conceicao (17-1, 8 KOs) by unanimous decision in a 12-round main event ESPN+ streamed from Casino del Sol.

Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) and Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) will fight for Stevenson’s WBO belt and Valdez’s WBC super featherweight crown in their 12-round, 130-pound title unification fight. ESPN will televise Stevenson-Valdez as the main event of a three-bout broadcast set to start at 10 p.m. ET.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.