Shakur Stevenson-Miguel Marriaga card latest to be postponed

Stevenson’s featherweight title defense against Marriaga, his first since winning the belt, has been postponed because of the coronavirus.

Now the Shakur Stevenson-Miguel Marriaga card off.

Stevenson’s featherweight title defense against Marriaga on Saturday at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York has been postponed because of the coronavirus, Top Rank announced on Thursday evening.

Organizers had originally decided to conduct the card without spectators but pivoted.

A card featuring Michael Conlan vs. Belmar Preciado on Tuesday was also postponed.

Top Rank said in a statement: “After close consultation with the New York State Athletic Commission, it has been determined that Saturday’s and Tuesday’s events cannot proceed in light of the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. Top Rank will work with the Commission to reschedule the events as soon as it is safe for all involved.

“The health and safety of the fighters and their teams, and everyone involved in the promotion of these events, necessitated taking this step. We thank everyone for their understanding, and we will continue to work with our broadcast/venue partners and state and local officials to decide when the time is right to return.”

 

Shakur Stevenson wants to make statement even without spectators

Shakur Stevenson will make his first featherweight title defense against Miguel Marriaga on Saturday in front of empty seats.

The building will be empty. But Shakur Stevenson’s future is not.

Stevenson will make his first featherweight title defense against Miguel Marriaga on Saturday night at Hulu Theater at New York’s Madison Square Garden in front of empty seats because of the growing coronavirus threat.

Essentially, it’ll be a studio show for an ESPN audience. It’ll be different. It’ll be weird. Echoes instead of cheers, yet life and boxing careers move on. Nothing about Stevenson’s ambition changes, especially in a title defense that allows him to make a statement against Marriaga, a perennial title contender.

Before Stevenson (13-0, 7 KO) won his first 126-pound belt with a dominating decision over Joet Gonzalez last October in Reno, Nevada, he talked about 2020 as a year when he could begin to stake a claim on pound-for-pound contention.

“I want to be the king of boxing,’’ Stevenson, 22, told reporters this week on a promotional stop in his hometown of Newark.

He won’t necessarily do that against Marriaga (29-3, 25 KOs). Stevenson is heavily favored. He is expected to win. But he has his own expectations. He’ll measure himself more by how he does than what he does. He’s hoping for a sensational performance, one that won’t get a crowd rocking, yet will be YouTube worthy. Fans can’t be there, but Stevenson wants to deliver a victory memorable enough to replay and share.

Marriaga is 0-3 in title shots. He lost to Nicholas Walters in June 2015, Oscar Valdez Jr. in May 2017 and Vasiliy Lomachenko in August 2017. Lomachenko, No. 1 in Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound poll, destroyed Marriaga, knocking down the 33-year-old Colombian twice and forcing him to quit after the seventh round of a junior lightweight fight.

For Stevenson, Lomachenko’s performance is the standard, one he hopes to surpass. Do that and maybe he gets some consideration from some of those pound-for-pound polls.

More immediate is a possible title unification fight with U.K. featherweight Josh Warrington (30-0, 7 KOs). Stevenson hopes to face Warrington in May. That might be a little bit early, but nobody ever became king by waiting around.

Shakur Stevenson-Miguel Marriaga card will have no spectators

The card featuring Shakur Stevenson vs. Miguel Marriaga on Saturday in New York City will be conducted without fans in the stands.

The spread of coronavirus is having an increasingly significant effect on boxing.

The card featuring Shakur Stevenson’s featherweight title defense against Miguel Marriaga on Saturday will be conducted without fans in the stands at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, according to The Athletic.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said the event “goes on without the public.”
Arum said a second card, featuring featherweight prospect Michael Conlan on Tuesday at Hulu Theater, also will not have spectators.

Multiple boxing cards have been canceled in Europe and Canada, according to reports. An Olympic qualifier involving American boxers was called off. And Top Rank already moved a card featuring 140-pound titleholder Jose Ramirez vs. Viktor Postol from China – where the virus originated – to Fresno, Ramirez’s hometown.

Of course, the pandemic has affected other sports worldwide. In the U.S., the NBA suspended it’s season “until further notice” after one player, Rudy Gobert, tested positive for coronavirus. And the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be played without spectators.