The legend of the American promotional market Bob Arum will watch the fight between the boxers of his company today Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) and Oscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs). The 90-year-old head of Top Rank decided to evaluate the chances of the Mexican, who is considered the underdog of the upcoming meeting, and also commented on the potential fight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. for the title of best welterweight.
About debiting Oscar Valdez:
“I think that Stevenson deserves to be called the favorite because of his achievements, but I would not write off Valdez. One thing you have to understand is that Oscar has worked a lot with Eddie Reynoso and he is confident in his victory, which says a lot - including that they have a good chance of winning. Reynoso is a very smart man in boxing. They dropped the idea of fighting Navarrete and started talking to me about the fight with Shakur, or the winner of his duel with Herring, right after we started negotiations."
About Stevenson working with Terence Crawford in the same room:
"This is good. I won't demand that Crawford leave my gym. I think we are above that in Top Rank."
On whether he thinks the Crawford-Spence fight will take place:
"No idea. Terence doesn't have a contract with me, so it's not my problem."
On whether he is of the opinion after Spence's last performance and beyond that Crawford will beat him:
"Well, I do not know. I always thought Crawford was a better boxer, but I don't know what's wrong with his head today. To fight at the level that Spence showed, you need to have a clear head and make the right decisions, and I don’t know if Terence is still capable of that.”
