Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) announced that he had already signed a contract for a unification fight for the WBO and WBC belts with Oscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs). The fight is scheduled to take place on April 30th. The American is the WBO featherweight champion (up to 59 kg). The Mexican sits on the WBC throne.
“Contract signed, hard work ahead,” Stevenson wrote.
According to an earlier statement by manager Valdes, his ward also signed a contract for this fight.
Valdes will enter this bout following his controversial win over 2016 Olympic champion Robson Conceição last September, when the judges scored 115-112, 115-112 and 117-110 in his favor. Back then, many boxing fans felt that Conceicao had done enough to deserve the win. Ideally, it would be a good gesture for Valdes to give Conceicao a rematch, but the Mexican opted for a unification fight with Stevenson.