Tag: JAHI TUCKER

Top Rank announces complete undercard for Lopez-Pedraza

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Rising junior welterweight Tiger Johnson, who starred for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, intends on capping his 2022 campaign with a standout performance at The World’s Most Famous Arena.

Johnson steps up in his first scheduled eight-rounder against Mike O’Han Jr. on Saturday, Dec. 10, at Madison Square Garden. Johnson-O’Han joins a loaded fight card headlined by the junior welterweight main event between former lightweight king Teofimo Lopez and former two-weight world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza.

Johnson (6-0, 4 KOs), from Cleveland, Ohio, has established himself as one of the sport’s top prospects since turning pro last November. A quarterfinalist in Tokyo, Johnson is 5-0 in 2022, a year that began with a four-round decision over Xavier Madrid in January. In August, he became the first fighter to stop Massachusetts native Harry Gigliotti. Johnson returned on the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Jamaine Ortiz card last month and shut out Esteban Garcia over six rounds. He moves up to the eight-round plateau against O’Han (16-1, 9 KOs), a native of Holbrook, Massachusetts, who has won seven straight bouts.

Johnson said, “Madison Square Garden is the biggest stage in boxing, and I plan on making a huge statement against a tough opponent in Mike O’Han. I am ready to put the 140-pound weight class on notice. I’m going to close out 2022 strong and start climbing the rankings in 2023.”

Lopez-Pedraza tops a televised quadruple-header airing immediately after the Heisman Trophy Ceremony at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Heavyweight sensation Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson aims for his 13th straight knockout against the battle-tested Jerry “Slugger” Forrest, Puerto Rican junior middleweight star Xander Zayas steps up in class against 28-fight veteran Alexis Salazar, and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis looks to jumpstart his world title ambitions in a lightweight duel versus Juan Carlos Burgos.

Johnson-O’Han and additional undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. In other undercard action, “Irish” Joe Ward (7-1, 4 KOs) will battle Frederic Julan (12-1, 10 KOs) in a six-round light heavyweight tilt, undefeated Polish heavyweight Damian Knyba (8-0, 5 KOs) steps up against Emilio Salas (7-3-1, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder, Brooklyn-born featherweight sensation Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (5-0, 3 KOs) takes on Juan Tapia (12-4, 4 KOs) in an eight-rounder, and Long Island-born welterweight Jahi Tucker (9-0, 5 KOs) aims for win number 10 against Ivan Pandzic (14-2-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-rounder.

Shakur Stevenson: ‘I’m really focused on putting in the work on Friday night’

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Shakur Stevenson is two days away from the ultimate homecoming. The WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine junior lightweight king will defend his belts Friday evening against Robson Conceição (17-1, 8 KOs) at Prudential Center. Stevenson, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, is a Newark native who is fighting at home as a world champion for the first time.

Before Stevenson and Conceição took the mic, the Mayor’s Office of the City of Newark presented Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) with a proclamation declaring September 21, 2022, as Shakur Stevenson Day in the city. That was followed up by special plaque from Quitman Street School students, Stevenson attended Quitman Street for elementary school, and the building sits less than a mile from Prudential Center.

In the eight-round lightweight co-feature, U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (5-0, 4 KOs) steps up in class against Omar Tienda (25-5, 18 KOs).

At Wednesday’s press conference, this is what the fighters had to say.

Shakur Stevenson

 (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

“Honestly, I’m just ready to fight. I’m not really focused on the pressure. I don’t care about all that. I’m really focused on putting in the work on Friday night. I’m just ready to fight at the end of the day. All I can think about is fighting and performing. That’s everything that’s on my mind.”

“He’s a good fighter. But I think he lost against Valdez. If you left it in the judges’ hands, then you lost. I fought Valdez, and I beat the s*** out of him. I don’t have any excuses. He’s talking about having COVID or something before his last fight. All I hear are excuses. I’m ready to fight. Tell him to not have any excuses on Friday night. I’m ready to beat him up.”

“I never leave it in the hands of the judges. I go in there and take everything that I want.”

Robson Conceição

 (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

“It was very touching for me to be welcomed by my community here. Yes, I understand that Shakur is a native, but I also feel right at home here.”

“I’m very motivated. I’ve trained all my life for this moment. The world was able to see that I was better than Oscar Valdez. I should have won. So, he’s not really defending two titles because one should have been mine. I’m a champion without a crown, and I’m ready for Friday night.”

“Shakur is someone that I really respect. He’s a great athlete. I can tell that he’s young, probably overly excited and speaks a little too much. This coming Friday, there will only be one champ, and that champ is me.”

Keyshawn Davis

 (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

“Keyshawn is going to be Keyshawn and he’s going to have fun in there. The talent that Shakur and I have is extraordinary. We both get to show our talent back to back. Just like I said last time in Las Vegas when I fought alongside him, the fans are going to be the winners at the end of the night. And that’s definitely what happened. We’re definitely looking forward to just giving the fans what they came out and paid for.”

“Is he my toughest opponent yet? I don’t know. I’m going to wait and see. I’m hoping that it’s a great fight for me so that I can keep learning and developing. I’m more than prepared for this fight both mentally and physically.”

Omar Tienda

“I’m happy to be in the co-feature of an event of his caliber. I’m excited and happy to be able to come here and do my job. What do we bring that may be different? Well, obviously experience, hard work and strength. We will also bring big surprises for the entire night.”

“You all know why I have ‘The Heroe’ as my nickname. I worked 13 years in emergency rescue, doing different kinds of rescues internationally. Not only in 2008, but in 2010, 2014 and the last one in 2016. They have been very important rescues in which lives are at risk, where we know that we have to go in there and work and where we don’t know if we’ll be returning to see our families.”

“So, for me, this is about working, enjoyment and happiness. We’ve come to score the upset and the name of ‘The Heroe’ will ring once more.”

Bruce Carrington

“Being on Top Rank boxing is the best move that I’ve ever made. I’m happy to be a part of this team. The sky is the limit, and I’m ready to continue proving myself. I just want to step into the ring and showcase my talent so that everybody can see what I’m capable of doing. Top Rank is the place to be for you to be able to showcase that.”

Jahi Tucker

“I just want to thank God for the opportunity to be here. This is a testament to all the hard work we’ve done, and this Friday we’re going to show all the hard work. This means the world to me.”

Keyshawn Davis to battle Omar Tienda on Stevenson-Conceição card

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Norfolk’s Olympic silver medal star, Keyshawn Davis, now has an opponent for his long-awaited ring return. Davis, who shined for Team USA last summer in Tokyo, will fight Mexican veteran Omar Tienda in an eight-round lightweight showdown Friday, Sept. 23, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Davis-Tienda will be the co-feature to WBC/WBO junior lightweight world champion Shakur Stevenson’s hometown title defense against Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceição.

Stevenson-Conceição and Davis-Tienda will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

The undercard — streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT— features an eight-round junior lightweight bout between unbeaten prospect Henry “Moncho” Lebron and Andy “El Tiburon” Vences.

Davis (5-0, 4 KOs) is back following April’s sixth-round TKO over Esteban Sanchez on the Oscar Valdez-Stevenson card. His proposed July bout against Jair Valtierra was postponed, but with a clean bill of health, Davis seeks to make waves once again before Stevenson takes center stage. Tienda (25-5, 18 KOs), from Guadalupe, Mexico, has won seven straight fights — all by knockout — since a 2017 decision loss to Dennis Galarza. His only stoppage defeat came in his seventh pro fight back in 2013.

Lebron (16-0, 10 KOs), from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, ranks among his island nation’s top prospects, but he’s looking to notch a signature victory. In his last outing, he won a clear eight-round unanimous decision over Luis Lebron (no relation). Vences (23-3-1, 12 KOs) is a 10-year pro from San Jose, California, who has battled a slew of top-rated fighters. His July 2020 split decision defeat to Luis Alberto Lopez — now the IBF No. 1 featherweight contender — ranked among the year’s best action fights. He makes his comeback little more than one year removed from a majority decision loss to former world title challenger Jono Carroll.

In other undercard action, Shakur Stevenson protégé Antoine Cobb (1-0-1, 1 KO) will fight an immediate rematch against Jaylan Phillips (1-2-1, 1 KO) in a four-rounder at welterweight. Cobb and Phillips fought to a crowd-pleasing draw April 30 on the Valdez-Stevenson undercard.

The undercard is also scheduled to include the following bouts:

Jahi Tucker (8-0, 5 KOs) vs. Jose Luis Sanchez (11-2-1, 4 KOs), 8 rounds, welterweight
 
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (4-0, 3 KOs) vs. Jose Argel (9-4, 3 KOs), 6 rounds, featherweight
 
Armani Almestica (6-0, 6 KOs) vs. Omar Urieta (3-1-1, 2 KOs), 6 rounds, lightweight
 
Pablo Valdez (6-0, 5 KOs) vs. Noe Alejandro Lopez (11-5-1, 4 KOs), 6 rounds, welterweight
 
Orlando Gonzalez (18-1, 11 KOs) vs. Misael Lopez (13-1, 5 KOs), 8 rounds, featherweight
 
Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (6-0, 2 KOs) vs. Eduardo Diogo (3-0, 2 KOs), 6 rounds, junior featherweight

Photo/courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)

Shakur Stevenson is coming home!

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Newark native and unified 130-pound champion(WBC/WBO) Shakur Stevenson is going home, but this time, he’s a champion. He will defend his titles on September 23 against Robson Conceição at Prudential Center in Newark.

The 25-year-old last fought at the Prudential Center in 2019 when he stopped Alberto Guevara.

The homecoming festivities kicked off Monday with a press conference at Prudential Center, and Stevenson was treated to a local hero’s welcome. Special guests included Seton Hall Men’s Basketball Coach Shaheen Holloway, Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton, and Ras Baraka, Mayor of Newark.

Stevenson-Conceição and the return of lightweight U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Undercard action will stream on ESPN+ and includes welterweight Jahi Tucker, featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, and junior bantamweight Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz.

Here is what the fighters had to say at the press conference.

Shakur Stevenson:

(Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images) 

“For all the kids, you’ve got to keep trying to be great. Keep striving to be better. I want to be an example for you all. I want to make sure that I do my part. I’m going to come in shape and ready to fight on September 23. I’m going to put on a show for the kids, and for the city of Newark. I want to give you all a hell of a performance. I’m going to do my part, and I’m going to come in shape. I appreciate the support. I’m locked in, and September 23, I’m going to put on a show.”

Keyshawn Davis

(Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

“I feel like Top Rank has the best prospects in the game. This is definitely one of the cards to watch. I feel like this is going to be another ‘Oscar Valdez’ type of a night. I feel like this is going to be another Shakur Stevenson vs. Jamel Herring fight. I feel like fight is going to be about six rounds right here. But not only the main event. I feel like the undercard is going to put on a spectacular performance, too. I don’t really see any of us going the entire rounds because I feel like we should be getting stoppage that night. As for me, the business man is going to do what he do. I’ve been putting on great performances ever since ya’ll been seeing me fight.”

Bruce Carrington

(Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

“I know you will all be in the building on September 23. You know I’m bringing my people on September 23. We’re going to put on a show. A big shout out to all the boxers here. Floyd ‘Cashflow’ Diaz is in the building. ‘Flashy’ Keyshawn Davis is in the building. We’ve got Jahi Tucker. He’s in the building. And then you’ve got the man himself, Shakur Stevenson from Newark, New Jersey. He’s going to put on a show. And you know me as well, I’m going to put on a show, too. I’ll see you on September 23.”

Jahi Tucker

(Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

“On September 23, I’ll have a good performance for you all. It’s my first time fighting in Jersey. I’m going to make it a memorable one. Shakur is a great fighter. This is his hometown, so I’ve got to come strong. I’m going to be here September 23, and I’ll see you all.”

Floyd Diaz

“I just want to make sure I put on a show for everybody. I want to show everybody that I’m scary at 122. And it is what it is. On September 23, me and my guys are going to put on a show. We’re here to take over.”