Saturday: Junior Lightweight World Title Unification Showdown WBC Champ Oscar Valdez vs. WBO Champ Shakur Stevenson 

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Saturday: Junior Lightweight World Title Unification Showdown WBC Champ Oscar Valdez vs. WBO Champ Shakur Stevenson 

LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+   

U.S. Olympic Lightweight Medalist Keyshawn Davis vs. Estaban Sanchez in Co-Feature   

Undefeated Middleweight Nico Ali Walsh vs. Alejandro Ibarra in Special Feature    

Weigh-In Live Friday during Max on Boxing on ESPN2     

Two of boxing’s brightest young stars — both Olympians, undefeated and two-division world champions — Oscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) and Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) go toe-to-toe in one of 2022’s most anticipated showdowns, the unification of junior lightweight titles Saturday, April 30, on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. The fight, promoted by Top Rank, will be live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.    

The 31-year-old Valdez is the WBC champion and a two-time Olympian for Mexico (2008 and ‘12).  At 24, Stevenson is the WBO champion and won a silver medal in Rio de Janeiro at the 2016 Summer Olympics.     

Joe Tessitore will call the action, working with analysts Andre Ward, a Hall of Famer and 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist, and future Hall of Famer Timothy Bradley Jr.  Mark Kriegel and Bernardo Osuna will serve as reporters and handle interviews.     

The telecast will also include an eight-round lightweight co-feature between 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (4-0, 3 KOs) and Esteban Sanchez (18-1, 8 KOs).  In a special feature, the lineup will begin with Nico Ali Walsh (4-0, 3 KOs) – Muhammad Ali’s grandson – facing Alejandro Ibarra (7-1, 2 KOs) in a four-round middleweight clash.    

Undercard on ESPN+  

Starting at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT, ESPN+ will exclusively stream the six-fight undercard.    

Blood, Sweat & Tears: Valdez vs. Stevenson   

Blood, Sweat & Tears: Valdez vs. Stevenson is a two-part series that goes inside the two fight camps. The two half-hour specials will each receive an encore airing on Saturday, at 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. They are also available on-demand on the ESPN App and ESPN.com.     

Max on Boxing with the Live Weigh-In, Press Conference on ESPN+  

A special live edition of Max on Boxing with Max Kellerman – Max on Boxing Live Weigh-In Show: Valdez vs. Stevenson – will include the weigh-in from Las Vegas on ESPN2 on Friday, April 29, at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. In addition, the fighters’ press conference with the media will be on ESPN+ on Thursday, April 28, at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.    

Watch the Fighters in Matches from the Past 

Available now on the ESPN App and ESPN+ are a number of fights with either Valdez or Stephenson, plus the two editions of Blood, Sweat & Tears: Valdez vs. Stevenson. 

ESPN.com  

  • Friday: Timothy Bradley Jr. Breaks Down the Main Event.  

Fight Week Programming  

All times Eastern  

Thur., April 28   4 p.m.   Valdez vs. Stevenson Press Conference   ESPN+  
Fri., April 29   5 p.m.   Max on Boxing Live Weigh-In Show:   

Valdez vs. Stevenson  

ESPN2  
Sat., April 30   2 p.m.   Blood, Sweat & Tears: Valdez vs. Stevenson (Part One)   ESPN2  
2:30p.m.   Blood, Sweat & Tears: Valdez vs. Stevenson (Part Two)   ESPN2  
6:30 p.m.   Top Rank on ESPN: Valdez vs. Stevenson (Undercard)   ESPN+  
10 p.m.   Top Rank on ESPN: Valdez vs. Stevenson   ESPN  

ESPN Deportes ESPN+  

About ESPN  

ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more.  ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.    

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 21.3 million subscribers.        

Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month (or $69.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads).       

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Dave Nagle

As I write this on 11-11-21, it's now 35 years for me at ESPN, the only real job I’ve ever had. I joined merely to help with the upcoming America’s Cup in Australia. I was told it would be for three months at all of $5.50 per hour. I like to say I simply kept showing up. I’ve worked on almost every sport, plus answered viewer calls and letters (people used to write!), given tours, written the company newsletter and once drove NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon to the local airport. My travels have been varied…I’ve been to Martinsville, Darlington, Indy and Super Bowls; the America’s Cup (all 3) in San Diego and College GameDay in the sport’s meccas such as Eugene, Auburn, Lubbock, Stillwater and more; the NBA Finals, Wimbledon (16 times and counting) and the “other Bristol,” the one with a race track in Tennessee. These days, my main areas are tennis, UFC, boxing, network-wide ratings (by month/quarter/year), and corporate communications documents, including fact sheets, chronologies, lists and nearly 35 of the Year in Review press releases. UPDATE EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER: Today, November 11, 2022, I am retiring from ESPN -- 36 years to the day I began. As I ride off into the sunset – top down and E Street Radio blaring – I do so with so many wonderful memories, proud of my contributions and a heart full of gratitude for the opportunity. 
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