Oscar Valdez-Shakur Stevenson Tickets at MGM Grand Garden Arena On Sale Thursday, March 10!!!!!

Press Release 

Unbeaten Champions Clash: Oscar Valdez-Shakur Stevenson Tickets at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas On Sale Thursday, March 10

Tickets for the April 30 junior lightweight title unification tilt — starting at $79 — can be purchased by visiting AXS.com

LAS VEGAS (March 9, 2022) — The battle for junior lightweight supremacy is on deck. WBC champion Oscar Valdez will meet WBO king Shakur Stevenson in a title unification showdown between undefeated fighters Saturday, April 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Promoted by Top Rank, tickets starting at $79 go on sale Thursday, March 10 at 10 a.m. PT and can be purchased by visiting AXS.com.

“This is a fight between two fighters in their physical primes, the best fighting the best,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Oscar and Shakur deserve the biggest stage, and it doesn’t get much bigger than ESPN and the MGM Grand Garden Arena. On April 30, a superstar will be born.”

Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs), the fighting pride of Nogales, Mexico, is a two-weight world champion entering his 10th world title fight. He authored the 2021 Knockout of the Year with his title-winning effort over longtime champion Miguel Berchelt. Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs), the rising pound-for-pound star from Newark, New Jersey, is coming off last October’s one-sided knockout over then-champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring.

Valdez-Stevenson and additional fight action will be televised live on ESPN & ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts will be announced shortly.

MEDIA CONTACTS 

TOP RANK

Evan Korn: 516-510-6014 / ekorn@toprank.com

Gardy Lopez: 787-246-3668 / glopez@toprank.com 

ESPN

Santa Brito: 646-547-5602 / santa.brito@espn.com

Ardi Dwornik: 646-547-5612 / ardi.r.dwornik@espn.com

MGM Resorts International

Katharine Sherrer / ksherrer@mgmresorts.com

Media Credential Application: MagnaMedia.com

Wilder vs. Ortiz Preview

By Steve Ward

The time is fast approaching again where one may need to make the crucial decision, “Do I want to give my local cable/satellite provider $74.99 to watch Wilder vs. Ortiz II?” Before we delve into this conundrum, we must explore why you are in this predicament in the first place. Perhaps your favorite bar/pub/brewery/Hooters/imbibement palace is not showing the fight. Perhaps you don’t have any friends (I know this is harsh but, hey, it’s possible). Maybe you’ve been ostracized by your peers for following in the footsteps of my esteemed colleague Justin Dohnson and have indulged in one too many Tecates at party after party until things have gotten weird one too many times. Or maybe being the “Party Man” is just too much for people to handle – especially since this fight falls on the original Party Man’s (Matt Ward's) birthday. Whatever your dilemma may be, the bottom line is you’ve arrived at a crucial decision to make.

Let’s look at the main event first. The undefeated Bronze Bomber (41-0-1, 40 KOs) heads into this fight with his nearly untarnished record – we won’t talk about the Fury fight right now – against a man who many believe was seconds away from defeating him in their first encounter back in March 2018. One could make the argument that his opponent, Luis Ortiz (31-1-0, 26 KOs) had a potential victory thwarted by the bell in conjunction with the long leash afforded to the champ by the referee because, let’s be honest, the champ didn’t know what zip code he was in when Ortiz was bringing the fight to him in round seven of their first encounter. Unfortunately for Ortiz, he fell victim (as so many have) to “the big one” – a devastating uppercut delivered by Wilder in round ten that promptly ended the fight. 

This time around could prove to offer a different narrative. While Wilder undoubtedly has mowed through the Heavyweight Division – except for the Gypsy King – could he be underestimating and looking beyond Ortiz since this is not the fight he wants? Possibly. Rather than undermine Ortiz, I’d prefer to focus on the fact that he is one of a select few fighters who’ve ever really gotten to Wilder and taken him deep into a fight. Additionally, Ortiz appears to have taken his conditioning to a new level for this rematch and if it hasn’t hindered his power, that makes him exponentially more dangerous in my opinion. Thanks to Luis Cortes, The Weigh-In got an up close and personal look at King Kong’s media workout and he looks so primed to go, I needed to do a double take of his picture to realize it was actually him.

The card will also feature Leo Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19 KOs) attempt to become a four-division world champion as he goes toe to toe with Miguel Flores (24-2-0, 12 KOs) for the vacant WBA Super Featherweight Title. This should prove to be a more than suitable fight as the first of three title bouts on the pay-per-view card. As long as you can get past Leo’s constant wrist turning – whether it be a nervous tick, timing mechanism, tool of deception for his opponent, etc. (if you didn’t notice it before, you will now so you’re welcome) - this should prove to be an exciting title bout. 

The co-feature on the card will pit Brandon Figueroa (20-0-0, 15 KOs) as he attempts to defend his WBA Super Bantamweight Title against Julio Ceja (32-4-0, 28 KOs). Figueroa, a fighter who I supplied ringside coverage of his battle with Oscar Escandon, when they aptly stepped into the main event slot of a card that was to be headlined by Victor Ortiz and John Molina – until Ortiz found himself in a legal quandary – proved he was ready for the spotlight and he now finds himself in his third fight of 2019.

So we now return to our initial question…Is the pay-per-view worth $74.99? Unfortunately, I can’t make that decision for you. All I can tell you is this is now a time for a little self-reflection and perhaps an opportunity for you to become a bit industrious and order the fight while charging a cover to your “friends.” Nonetheless, all of the action will come to you live this Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Fox Sports pay-per-view and via the Fox Sports app for $74.99.

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Blair Cobbs: Boxing is his Sanctuary

By Luis A. Cortes III

Saturday night’s mega fight card live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas is indeed being headlined by the historic showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev.  While this matchup between the reigning middleweight king and the current WBO light heavyweight champion has brought members of the boxing media to Sin City from all over the country, Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (12-0-1) (8 KO’s) is aware that this is his moment to establish himself, make believers out of everyone watching, and prove he is the future of boxing. Tomorrow night, Cobbs will meet Carlos Ortiz (11-4) (11 KO's) in a 10-round fight for the NABF welterweight title. 

This is the type of opportunity (being in the opening fight of the main portion of the televised card) that Cobbs has been working towards as a professional fighter for the past six years.  Not only will a victory for Cobbs announce his presence to the sport, as he makes the transition from welterweight prospect to championship contender (this fight will be for the vacant NABF title), it’s the first step that he needs to take in trying to do what all fighters crave to ultimately do... Become a bankable transcendent star.

As he stands inside of the MGM Casino with his team at his side just outside of a casino bar moments after finishing an open workout for fans and media, this version of Blair Cobbs is a much more subdue man than the one who was just entertaining the crowd and shouting that he “is the baddest, most exciting man in boxing today.”

With a frenzy taking place and fans screaming for free promotional gifts as other undercard fighters shadow boxed and skipped ropes to help promote Saturday night's event, Team Cobbs arrived for their turn. The polite, soft spoken, and thoughtful twenty-nine-year-old flipped a switch as he stepped through the ropes.  By the time his feet landed inside of the ring he had transformed into the “The Flair,” and started shouting into the cameras and towards the fans.  Instantly understanding and showing the world that inside of the ring is not only his sanctuary, but also his stage.

Cobbs even showed off one of his unique training techniques to the crowd.  After spinning around in a circle to off-set his balance, Cobb was tossed three balls that he started to juggle.  The thought process being that he can train his body and mind to successfully juggle three balls while dizzy.  This form of training will lead to an improved ability to fight and maintain coordination if he is ever hurt and dazed from a punch.  Once his time inside of the ring ended, Cobbs left the ring and the public workout area.  Minutes later, he had internally flipped the switch back off and was once again, Blair.

The road for Cobbs arrival to fight week has been nothing but unorthodox, even for the often-crazy unpredictable world of boxing.  His backstory and road to the sport is something the best screenwriters and producers in Hollywood couldn’t even come up with.  “There are many chapters that explain my life.  I was born in Philadelphia and lived in Beverly Hills where I went to high school.  Another chapter was having to move with my father and sister to Guadalarja, Mexico.  That’s where I learned to box.  Boxing and that ring became my sanctuary,” stated Cobbs.

It was back in 2004 that Cobbs and his sister were suddenly moved to Mexico by their father.  Eugene Cobbs was a prime target of the FBI who were searching for him in connection with an air plane crash in West Virginia.  Eugene had allegedly crashed a private plane and fled the scene because inside of the plane was 525 pounds of cocaine.  With the U.S. Marshals closing in on him and his family, Mexico became home for the Cobbs family.

Once in Mexico, Cobbs tried his best to adapt to his new surroundings by picking up the language, which he speaks fluently.  He wandered into a boxing gym and took to the sport like a fish to water.  Cobbs would keep a low profile to keep his family together everywhere except for inside of the gym.  “I was fighting like every weekend and it was great.  I was in some real knockdown drag out fights,” recalled Cobbs.  In 2007, Eugene was captured and Blair was set free as he was able to return to his home country.  He found himself back in Philadelphia after a stint in New York, but with no money and no prospects for financial gain.  Cobbs once again found sanctuary behind the walls of a boxing gym.

“I was unprepared for the streets of Philadelphia.  I was all over the city, West, North, Germantown.  Surviving those city streets is hard.”  Through boxing Cobbs was able to make his name in the city in the same fashion that he did while fighting and trying to survive in Mexico.  After turning professional in 2013 he found some success in and out of the boxing ring.  Cobbs still had no financial stability but was training locals at the Joe Hand Boxing Gym and using whatever money he could put together to eat properly and train.  While living out of his car, he finally received a break when he was noticed by former associates of Bernard Hopkins.

Once again, Cobbs decided that it would be best to try and establish himself in a new environment to continue his path in boxing, so he moved to Las Vegas.  This move occurred because, despite knowing associates of a legend, he couldn’t get a fight on the grounds that no one wanted to face him.  His career was at a turning point, thus the move out west.  Former WBA bantamweight champion Clarence “Bones” Adams was serving time and met Cobbs' cousin.  They spoke about Blair and Adams agreed to meet with the young talent upon his release.

They immediately connected not just through boxing, but through their shared experiences and similar backgrounds.  Adams was so convinced that Cobbs was a special talent that he got Brandon Woods, his former trainer, to return to Las Vegas to help with training and Cobbs' development.  Finally having a steady home in Las Vegas and a stable team to support his growth as a fighter and man, Cobbs won several fights in a row. He reconnected with the former associate of Bernard Hopkins in Vegas, and after a few more wins, signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions.

With boxing being Blair Cobbs' sanctuary in Mexico, New York, Philadelphia, back to Mexico wining professional fights, and now in Las Vegas, at 29, Cobbs needs to make a splash before his physical prime runs its course.  After all, father time waits for no man, not even the Flair.  He is aware of this and along with his back story, his ability to speak fluent Spanish (which opens him up to the Latino market), his fan friendly fighting style, and his willingness to interact with fans, Cobbs has finally reached the moment for his career to start taking off towards bigger fights, which also means bigger pay days.  The first step for Cobbs to take towards his ultimate goals starts tomorrow night when he steps through the ropes and into the ring, which after all, is the place he also calls his “sanctuary."

Photo - BoxRec.com

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Coach Larry Wade Interview

By Luis A. Cortes III

While in Las Vegas for the big fight weekend, I caught up with strength and conditioning coach Larry Wade at Luis "King Kong" Ortiz's Media Day. Wade and I discussed Ortiz's upcoming fight with Deontay Wilder on November 23, 2019 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

You can stream our interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes:

Coach Larry Wade Interview with Luis Cortes on SoundCloud

Coach Larry Wade Interview with Luis Cortes on iTunes

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