LAS VEGAS – Shakur Stevenson is one of only two opponents who has beaten Robson Conceicao since the Brazilian contender turned pro.
The unbeaten Stevenson expects Emanuel Navarrete to conquer Conceicao as well, but the two-division champion contends that it might not be as easy as oddsmakers and some fans anticipate. Stevenson thinks the crafty Conceicao’s style could give the aggressive Navarrete some difficulty, particularly early in their 12-round fight for Navarrete’s WBO junior lightweight title November 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) will defend his WBO belt against Conceicao (17-2, 8 KOs, 1 NC) in the co-featured fight ESPN will broadcast before Stevenson faces Dominican southpaw Edwin De Los Santos in a 12-round main event for the vacant WBC lightweight title. This rare Thursday night telecast is scheduled to start at 10:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 p.m. PDT).
“I think Navarrete gonna win,” Stevenson told a group of reporters and videographers at promoter Top Rank’s gym recently. “But the thing is that y’all gotta understand early is styles make fights. So, if Navarrete stop him quicker than I do or he punches this dude harder than I did and his face was more messed up, or however you wanna do it, styles make fights. So stylistically, I can see him probably stopping Conceicao late, but Conceicao gonna give him a little trouble early.”
The 34-year-old Conceicao, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, has lost only on points during his seven-year professional career.
Mexico’s Oscar Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) defeated Conceicao by unanimous decision in a very closely contested 12-round fight for Valdez’s WBO junior lightweight title in September 2021 at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) beat Conceicao much more convincingly in their own 12-round fight for the WBC and WBO 130-pound championships Stevenson lost on the scale the day before their September 2022 bout at Prudential Center in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
Navarrete, 28, soundly defeated Valdez in their 12-rounder for the WBO junior lightweight title Navarrete now owns August 12 at Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona. The three-division champion – who last lost in November 2012, in just his sixth professional fight – will take a 33-fight winning streak into his bout with Conceicao.
Navarrete is an 11-1 favorite over Conceicao, according to DraftKings sportsbook. Stevenson, 26, is a comparable favorite, 12-1, to defeat De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.