FIGHT WEEK
Rising star Shakur Stevenson will defend his 130-pound belts against Brazilian Robson Conceicao on Friday on ESPN. Also, on Saturday, Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker face off.
SHAKUR STEVENSON (18-0, 9 KOs) VS. ROBSON CONCEICAO (17-1, 8 KOs)
- When: Friday, Sept. 23
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
- Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
- TV/Stream: ESPN, ESPN+
- Division: Junior lightweight (130-pound limit)
- At stake: Stevenson’s WBC and WBO titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: Stevenson No. 14
- Odds: Stevenson 14-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Keyshawn Davis vs. Omar Tienda, lightweights
- Prediction: Stevenson UD
- Background: Stevenson, the gifted southpaw from New Jersey, is coming off sensational back-to-back victories over Jamel Herring (TKO 10 to win his belt) last October and Oscar Valdez (UD to unify two titles) in April to confirm his place among the best in the business. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist also held a 126-pound title in 2019. And he’s still only 25. He’s probably destined to challenge his fellow young stars at 135 pounds. However, he must get past Conceicao first. The 33-year-old Brazilian contender, a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, is a slick boxer with limited punching power. He gave a good account of himself in his first world title shot but fell short against then-champion Valdez last September, losing a clear decision. He rebounded to easily outpoint previously unbeaten Xavier Martinez in January. He’s ranked No. 2 by both the WBC and WBO.
JOE JOYCE (14-0, 13 KOs) VS. JOSEPH PARKER (30-2, 21 KOs)
- When: Saturday, Sept. 24
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (7 p.m. BST)
- Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Division: Heavyweight (unlimited)
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Joyce 2-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Amanda Serrano vs. Sarah Mahfoud, featherweights (for Serrano’s WBC and WBO and Mahfoud’s IBF titles); Michael Magnesi vs. Anthony Cacace, 12 rounds, junior lightweights; Ekow Essuman vs. Samuel Antwi, 12 rounds, welterweights
- Prediction: Joyce UD
- Background: Joyce and Parker are fighting to become the mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO heavyweight title. Joyce, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, recorded his break through victory when he stopped British rival Daniel Dubois in 10 rounds in November 2020. The 37-year-old Londoner followed that with knock outs of Carlos Takam the following July and Christian Hammer this past July to establish himself as a top contender. Parker represents his biggest test. The 30-year-old Kiwi held the WBO belt from December 2016 to March 2018, when he lost it by decision in a title-unification bout against Anthony Joshua. He was outpointed by Dillian Whyte in his next fight but rebounded to win his next six bouts, including back-to-back decisions over Derek Chisora in May and December of last year. Also on the card, Amanda Serrano (42-2-1, 30 KOs) of Brooklyn will defend her featherweight titles against Sarah Mahfoud (11-0, 3 KOs) of Denmark. Serrano is coming off a split-decision loss to lightweight champ Katie Taylor in April.
ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK
SATURDAY
- Leigh Wood vs. Mauricio Lara, featherweights, Nottingham, England (DAZN).
SUNDAY (IN JAPAN)
- Floyd Mayweather vs. Mikuru Asakura, exhibition, junior middleweights, Saitama, Japan (pay-per-view).
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