Tag: Oscar Valdez Jr.

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.

Andrew Cancio makes move to Top Rank official

Former junior lightweight titleholder Andrew Cancio, who left Golden Boy under difficult circumstances, signed with Top Rank on Thursday.

It was a blue-collar promise from a blue-collar boxer.

Andrew Cancio, a former junior lightweight champion who works for the gas company when he isn’t in the ring, said he’d be back after Golden Boy fired him three days before Thanksgiving, just a few days after he lost his title and ripped the promotional company.

Cancio is back, fulfilling a promise the way he completes a job.

Top Rank signed him Thursday.

In announcing the multi-fight deal, Top Rank, miraculously, didn’t mention Golden Boy.

“He was a free agent, miraculously, and we didn’t hesitate to make a deal with him and his team,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum said in a statement.

Miracles happen. So, too, does some subtle trash talk.

There’s nothing subtle about Cancio’s power or his working-man appeal. He is the West Coast’s version of Joe Smith Jr., a Long Island, New York laborer when he isn’t knocking Bernard Hopkins out of the ring or beating Jesse Hart.

Cancio (21-5-2, 16 KOs), who is from the Colorado River town of Blythe, California, stunned Alberto Machado last February, knocking him out in four rounds for a 130-pound belt. In a rematch four months later, he needed only three rounds to stop Machado.

On November 23, however, Cancio’s championship run came to an abrupt end. Rene Alvarado of Nicaragua knocked him out in seven rounds. He had knocked out Alvarado in December 2015

“I’m very grateful to begin the next chapter of my career with Bob Arum and the entire Top Rank team,” said Cancio, who criticized Golden Boy in a Los Angeles Times’ story for not promoting his blue-collar roots with appearances on bigger cards. “I look forward to returning to the ring in front of my army of supporters and am fully prepared to fight my way towards becoming a world champion again.’’

Cancio is expected to make his first appearance for Top Rank in April on ESPN. He provides another matchmaking possibility for Top Rank’s other junior lightweights, including Miguel Berchelt (honorable mention pound-for-pound), Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez Jr., Carl Frampton and Masayuki Ito.

Andrew Cancio to sign with Top Rank: report

Scott Quigg to make his return on March 7 in Manchester

Scott Quigg will try to climb back into the championship mix as junior lightweight against Ireland’s Jono Carroll on March 7 in Manchester.

Scott Quigg, a former junior featherweight titleholder, will try to climb back into the championship mix as junior lightweight against Ireland’s Jono Carroll on March 7 at Manchester Arena on DAZN.

Quigg (35-2-2, 26 KOs) hasn’t fought in 16 months. He suffered an elbow injury that bumped him off the Dec. 7 card featuring heavyweight Anthony Joshua’s rematch victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia.

“The arm is fully healed now, and I’m already in great shape,’’ Quigg said in a Matchroom Boxing release announcing the 130-pound-fight. “This is a fight I’m really excited about. I’m looking forward to getting in there and taking him apart and showing that despite being out the ring for over a year and the injury, there is still a lot left in the tank.’’

Quigg has fought only once since he lost a decision to then-featherweight champion Oscar Valdez Jr. in March 2018 on a rainy night in an outdoor ring at Carson, California. Seven months later, he scored a TKO of Mario Briones in Boston.

“It’s great to be back fighting and headlining at Manchester Arena again and for my supporters to be able to see me back fighting on U.K. soil,’’ said Quigg, who defended a 122-pound belt five times before losing it to Carl Frampton by a split decision Feb 27, 2016, also in Manchester. “It’s a great platform for me to launch my career forward again and get my name back in the mix for a world title shot.”

Carroll (17-1-1, 3 KOs), of Dublin, lost a unanimous decision to junior featherweight champion Tevin Farmer on March 15 in Philadelphia. He came back with a unanimous decision over Eleazar Valenzuela on Aug. 24 in Mexico.

Oscar Valdez Jr. wants Miguel Berchelt if he wins on Nov. 30

Oscar Valdez Jr. is moving up to 130 pounds to face Andres Gutierrez on Nov. 30 but has his sights set on Miguel Berchelt.

Oscar Valdez Jr. is adding a few pounds and some very big aspirations in pursuit of a second division title.

The former 126-pound champion is moving up to 130 to face Andres Gutierrez (38-2-1, 25 knockouts) on Nov. 30 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on ESPN+, a fight Valdez hopes is a springboard to an immediate showdown with junior lightweight titleholder Miguel Berchelt.

“If we go out the way we want, with the hand held high after this fight, I think we already deserve the position to face Berchelt,’’ Valdez said Monday during a question-and-answer session with media in Los Angeles.

Valdez (26-0, 20 KOs) doesn’t plan to waste any time at the new weight. Berchelt is considered the best of the current 130-pound class. He has made six successful title defenses, just three short of Julio Cesar Chavez’s record.

“In that division, the goal is to fight him,’’ Valdez said. “He is the boxer to beat.’’

The boxer to fear, too.

Oscar Valdez has had a lot to celebrate in his career but is looking for more worlds to conquer. Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Berchelt has power and a presence. He is often mentioned as a possible opponent for current lightweight champion and pound-for-pound leader Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Valdez has never backed away from a big risk. His fearless streak was oh-so evident against Scott Quigg on a rainy night on March 3, 2018 in Carson, California. Quigg failed to make the featherweight limit but Valdez decided to fight anyway. Quigg busted his jaw. Valdez lost a lot of blood and spent several days getting his meals through a straw after his mouth was wired shut in surgery. But he won the fight, scoring a unanimous decision over the bigger Quigg.

It was a sure sign of his courage.

And his determination.

“If I had to retire tomorrow I would not be happy with my career,’’ said Valdez, a two-time Mexican Olympian who was born in the Mexican border town of Nogales but went to school in Tucson. “I think there is much to achieve , and some of that is to go up and win another title.”

Valdez will be fighting for the third time with Canelo Alvarez’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso, in his corner.

“More than anything, I am grateful to him that he opened the doors for me,’’ said Valdez, who had worked with Manny Robles, heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr.’s trainer. “He has a lot of work with Canelo. At first, we doubted if he would have enough time. But on the contrary, we have spent Christmas together.

“I have learned a lot with Eddy Reynoso, and I will demonstrate it in my next fight. In boxing, you never stop learning.”