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One of boxing’s young prominent stars returns to the ring this Friday, as Shakur Stevenson closes out his time in the junior lightweight division with a now “semi” title fight against Robson Conceição. The event will take place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey with the main card getting underway at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+.
This was scheduled to be for the WBC, WBO, and The Ring titles, but Stevenson has vacated the belts after coming in overweight at Thursday’s weigh-in. The fighter has been looking to move up to 135 and decided on Thursday he’s ready to move up. Rather than attempt to cut down the 1.6 pounds he missed on, he elected to vacate the titles, have the fight, and then move up to 135 for his next fight.
This provides a big opportunity for Conceição (17-1, 8 KOs), who is the only one of the two who can claim the titles with a win on Friday. He’s a sizable underdog at DraftKings Sportsbook with +900 odds to Stevenson’s -1700. This is Conceição’s second title bout, having lost a unanimous decision to Oscar Valdez last September in a bid for the WBC title.
The fight is going to be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+ — meaning you’ll need a subscription in order to watch the event. You can subscribe to ESPN+ on the ESPN website, where a monthly subscription for $5.99, or get the ESPN/Disney/Hulu bundle for $13.99 per month. Once you’ve got a valid login, you can watch the bout with WatchESPN or on the ESPN app.
Full Card for Shakur Stevenson vs. Robson Conceicao
- Main event: Shakur Stevenson vs. Robson Conceição, 12 rounds, for now vacant WBC, WBO and The Ring junior lightweight titles (only Conceição can win the belts)
- Keyshawn Davis vs. Omar Tienda, 8 rounds, lightweights
Undercard:
- Jahi Tucker vs. Jose Luis Sanchez, 6 rounds, welterweights
- Bruce Carrington vs. Jose Argel, 6 rounds, featherweight
- Armani Almestica vs. Omar Urieta, 6 rounds, lightweight
- Pablo Valdez vs. Noe Alejandro Lopez, 6 rounds, welterweight
- Orlando Gonzalez vs. Misael Lopez, 8 rounds, featherweight
- Floyd Diaz vs. Eduardo Diogo, 6 rounds, junior featherweight