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Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez's showdown is now official. Contracts for the April clash have now been signed.
The matchup between the two Super Featherweight Champions was announced last month. The fight's placement on April 30th has come under a bit of scrutiny, given that it will be directly competing against DAZN's Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor event.
However, it seems the fight will go on regardless. BOXRAW on Twitter showed both Valdez and Stevenson signing contracts for their 130 lbs Championship showdown.
The fight between Stevenson and Valdez is one of the biggest of the year for the Super-Middleweight division. Both men are heading into the fight undefeated, but have had radically different paths to get to that point.
Stevenson is one of the most hyped boxing prospects in years. The 24-year-old decided to go pro in 2017 after winning an Olympic silver medal the year prior. He's since lived up to the hype, going 17-0 and winning titles in two divisions.
Valdez, on the other hand, is sitting at 30-0. The Mexican fighter is currently coming off a controversial bout against Robson Conceição in September 2021. He entered the bout after testing positive for a banned substance, but was allowed to compete and won the close contest via unanimous decision.
Shakur Stevenson has been out of the ring since October 2021
Shakur Stevenson heads into his showdown with Oscar Valdez coming off the biggest victory of his career. The current WBO Interim Super Featherweight titleholder faced Jamel Herring in October 2021 with a chip on his shoulder.
'Semper Fi' was expected to be the biggest test of Stevenson's career to date. He was defending his WBO Super Featherweight Championship and was expected to be the first to challenge the Olympian.
Instead, it was one-way traffic. Stevenson beat the champion from start to finish and won the fight via 10th round knockout. As a result, he became the new WBO Super Featherweight titleholder and established himself as one of the greatest on the planet.
He's now heading into April 30th with the opportunity to add another title to his resume. If his last trip to the ring in October 2021 is any indication, Valdez is going to have his hands full in their clash.
