Oscar Valdez is ready to move forward with the biggest fight of his career.
The reigning WBC junior lightweight titlist is signed and sealed for his anticipated title unification bout with current WBO 130-pound champ Shakur Stevenson. The showdown of unbeaten two-division titlists is targeted to take place April 30 on ESPN from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, pending Stevenson and his side following suit and putting ink to paper.
“Oscar Valdez has signed the fight for Shakur Stevenson,” Frank Espinoza, Valdez's manager confirmed over the weekend. “Just waiting on Stevenson to do his part and sign off.”
Stevenson (17-0, 9KOs) is expected to sign the contract in the coming days. The 24-year-old Newark-bred southpaw—a 2016 Olympic Silver medalist for the U.S. and former WBO featherweight titlist—will make the first defense of the WBO title he claimed in a tenth-round stoppage of Jamel Herring last October. Valdez will make the second defense of his WBC junior lightweight, following a WBO featherweight title reign spanning three years and six title defenses before moving up in weight.
The fight aggressively moved in the right direction, at the urging of both camps and Top Rank who promotes both fighters. Valdez (30-0, 23KOs) has remained eager to unify the division since violently claiming the WBC junior lightweight in a stunningly one-sided, tenth-round knockout of long-reigning champion Miguel Berchelt last February in Las Vegas.
The two-time Olympian and two-division titlist from Nogales, Mexico—who trains under renowned cornerman Eddy Reynoso—made his first junior lightweight title defense in a narrow win over three-time Olympian and 2016 Olympic Gold medalist Robson Conceciao last September in his second hometown of Tucson, Arizona.
The moment was mired in controversy, with Valdez testing positive for trace amounts of the banned substance Phentermine—a prescription-based weight-loss supplement—as discovered through Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) pre-fight testing. The August 13 test result was discovered less than two weeks ahead of the September 13 ESPN fight, with subsequent tests producing negative results. Valdez was cleared to fight by the presiding Pascua Yaqui Tribe Athletic Commission, though clearly affected by the ordeal as he struggled versus the awkward Conceicao before surging ahead in the second half of the fight.
Stevenson became a two-division champ following a one-sided win over Herring, who held the belt for more than two years heading into their October 23 clash in Atlanta. Prior to the fight, it was Herring who long called for unification bouts, with his successor to now carry that torch.
Valdez was previously linked to a potential fight with two-division and reigning WBO featherweight titlist Emanuel Navarrete, who would have moved up in weight for the fight. Top Rank changed course, instead approaching its pair of 130-pound titlists to enter the male junior lightweight division’s first unification bout since September 2005, when Marco Antonio Barrera outpointed Robbie Peden to unify the WBO and IBF titles.
More than 125 primary junior lightweight title fights have taken place since then, with every titleholder alleging a desire to become undisputed champion. Valdez and Stevenson will be the first junior lightweight titlists in nearly two decades to back up that claim.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
