Post fight brawl stains the glory of Shakur Stevenson dominant win over Oscar Valdez.
Shakur Stevenson had just been announced the winner in the title fight against rival Oscar Valdez with a clear and unanimous decision. A milestone that could catapult the Newark native to superstardom. And that’s when the ugly action really erupted at MGM Grand’s Garden Arena.
Stevenson was responding to a question about where he belonged on the list of boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters when he heard the commotion in the hallway beside the press conference room — an area, he knew, where his mum and his eight siblings were waiting for him.
The newly coined super featherweight champ, Shakur Stevenson, dropped the two championship belts that were dangling over his shoulders and raced off the dais, leaving legendary promoter Bob Arum shocked in his wake.
Shakur Stevenson pushed through a pair of emergency-exit doors to where, in a mall corridor outside the arena that connects to the MGM Grand’s main casino, punches were hurled and security failed to control the situation. Stevenson was trying to calm the situation, while making sure members of his family — including his mum Malikah and several of his 8 brothers and sisters — were safe as the violent event played out.
The commotion began when security refused to let his family into the press conference as agreed earlier. Pushing and shoving went on for a full ten minutes, and the situation wasn’t totally settled for another half hour when Stevenson — still dressed in his golden trunks and a championship T-shirt — was seen leaving with his family into a parking garage.
