Shakur Stevenson, Oscar Valdez Agree to Title Fight; Reportedly Set for April 30
Top Rank Boxing announced Thursday that Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez have signed on for a super featherweight title bout.
Top Rank tweeted a photo of both Stevenson and Valdez signing contracts for the fight:
According to Michael Benson of TalkSport, Stevenson and Valdez's manager confirmed the contracts have been signed, and the expectation is that the fight will occur April 30.
Stevenson vs. Valdez is the biggest possible fight in the super featherweight division, as both fighters are titleholders and own undefeated records.
The 24-year-old Stevenson is perhaps best known for winning a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro for Team USA.
Stevenson went pro afterward and is 17-0 with nine wins by way of knockout. His most significant win came in October when he beat Jamel Herring by 10th-round technical knockout to become the WBO super featherweight champion.
Valdez is a 31-year-old native of Mexico who has a substantial experience advantage over Stevenson, as he has been a pro since 2012. In 30 professional fights, Valdez is 30-0 with 23 of those victories coming by knockout.
He previously held the WBO featherweight title, successfully defending it six times before moving up to super featherweight.
Valdez reached the top of the super featherweight division in February 2021 when he beat Miguel Berchelt by 10th-round knockout to win the WBC super featherweight title.
Stevenson and Valdez will fight to unify the titles, and while no venue has been announced officially, Sam Gordon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported last month that the bout is expected to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
