Mike CoppingerESPN
Shakur Stevenson failed to make weight on Thursday ahead of his bout against Robson Conceicao on Friday in Newark, New Jersey, and will be stripped of his two 130-pound titles, per WBO and WBC championship fight rules. The 25-year-old weighed 131.6kg and had two hours to lose 1.6kg, but decided he couldn’t lose the excess weight. “I gave it my all,” tweeted Stevenson, ESPN’s No. 1 junior lightweight. “I’ve been pro my whole career and I’ve made weight, but my body just can’t do 130 anymore. My health has to come first. I’m going up to 135 in my next fight.” 2 Related Conceicao, an Olympic gold medallist, will be eligible to win the two vacant titles, provided the fight goes ahead as scheduled. The 33-year-old from Brazil weighed in at 129.6kg for his second career title shot. His other crack at a championship came in September 2021 when he dropped a controversial decision to Oscar Valdez. Valdez was cleared to compete, despite the presence of a banned substance in his system after testing positive weeks before the fight. Conceição (17-1, 8 KOs) rebounded with a win over Xavier Martinez in January, while Valdez was dominated by Stevenson in April. Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) will be fined by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission and will likely have to forfeit part of his purse before the fight can go forward. Stevenson is scheduled to earn $3 million, sources told ESPN. Top Rank is trying to work out a solution so Stevenson and Conceicao can still compete in ESPN’s main event, sources said. Stevenson previously held a title at 126 pounds. An Olympic silver medalist, Stevenson could be looking for high-stakes bouts with fellow Top Rank boxers Devin Haney, the undisputed lightweight champion, and Vasiliy Lomachenko at 135 pounds.
