LAS VEGAS, May 1 (BUS): WBO champion Shakur Stevenson handed Oscar Valdez the first loss of his career Saturday night in a junior lightweight championship bout.
Stephenson (18-0, 9 KOs), who won by unanimous decision (117-110, 118-109, 118-109), clinched Valdez’s WBC belt with the win, according to The Associated Press.
What started as a level fight during the first five rounds turned into a singles show after Stevenson took advantage of Valdez’s massive gamble with a header that left him in a vulnerable position.
Stevenson responded quickly and brought down Valdes with a quick left-footed shot for Temple to take control of the match.
Valdez (30-1) wasn’t the same after that round, and he seems to have lost the poise with which he started. Conversely, Stevenson was in control the rest of the way, much to the chagrin of the fiercely pro-Valdez crowd inside the jam-packed MGM Grand Garden.
On the base card, Nico Ali Walsh (5-0, 4 KOs), Muhammad Ali’s grandson, needed just 2 minutes and 50 seconds to knock out Alejandro Ibarra (7-2) in what should have been four rounds. Especially attractive to the middleweight.
After standing toe-to-toe for most of the round, and continuing to land his right hook on Ibarra’s head, Ali Walsh set up his superior opponent.
After the feint with his right hand to open things up, Ali Walsh quickly landed a left and right dash devastating to Ibarra’s face in his fourth knockout walk.
insult