Via Dan Ambrose: Oscar Valdez is receiving a lot of criticism for his performance on Saturday night when he lost by a 12-round unanimous decision to defensive master Shakur Stevenson in a super unification match. their feathers at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Valdez allowed Stevenson to keep his right arm outstretched in front of him all night, failing to knock it down. Shakur’s illegitimate arm allowed him to subdue Valdez in an embarrassing one-sided fight.
Boxing fans want to see Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) of the 130-lb WBC (30-1, 23 KOs), put pressure on WBO champion Stevenson (18-0.9 KOs), and use his shield if needed to get the victory .
Instead of going the extra mile using an earthy approach to get the win, 31-year-old Valdez adopted Canelo Alvarez’s high-guard style and was picked up by Stevenson.
During training camp, Valdez coach Eddy Reynoso should have realized that Canelo-sque’s strict defensive style was a miserable recipe for failure. Sadly, however, he lacked the foresight to predict what this foolish approach would lead to.
As a result, Stevenson toyed with Valdez, knocking him out in game six on his way to winning 117-110, 118-109 and 118-109.
In retrospect, Valdez should have given up his high defense after the first round when it became clear that he had no hope of winning with that approach.
“Oscar Valdez, he just doesn’t seem to understand what he’s dealing with,” said Teddy Atlas above Fighting gameabout Oscar Valdez’s loss to Shakur Stevenson last Saturday night.
“Don’t make excuses that it’s a bit boring. He has no prying style,” Atlas supports on Shakur. “That’s his style. I said [before the fight] that Valdez has a more interesting style. When he’s playing against the right guy, it’s pretty exciting.
“Stevenson is a softer style, not a fun style. It doesn’t mean he can’t get into an interesting fight, but you better have the right guy there.
“Stevenson was a caring young man; he comes up with things, he’s smart, and he’s careful, and he has a right to be careful. He is a man who understands that you have to hit and not get hit.
“That’s a good thing. Valdez accepts in his mind that you’re going to have to take a number to get a number. Stevenson really doesn’t think so. Stevenson thinks it should be a one-way street when it comes to that.’ I should do all the strokes, and you should do all the missing.’
“That’s his mentality, and we’ve had great fighters in the past with that mentality. Like when Muhammad Ali was when he was young, there were a lot of uninteresting fights.
“Ali is too fast, too smart, too shrewd, too quick with her hands and feet, and too aware of what sweet scientific reality is. Hit and not get hit; it’s Ali,” Atlas said.
