Shakur Stevenson Speaks On PED Testing Ahead Of Oscar Valdez Unification Fight

Shakur Stevenson said he was satisfied with the extent of performance-enhancing drug testing he went through before his unification title fight on Saturday against Oscar Valdez.

Stevenson and his team emphasized the important of Comprehensive PED testing during negotiations for the bout because Valdez tested positive for Phentermine, a substance banned by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association in and out of competition, a month before facing Robson Conceicao in September. Valdez was still allowed to fight and defend his title.

“They came to see me four times, I think,” Stevenson told Boxing Scene, referencing VADA’s sample collectors.

“I was very comfortable with it. I hope that they went to see him more than they came to see me because I feel like he was the one that got caught cheating. I never got caught cheating, so I think he should still be, this week, getting drug tested.”

“Cheating” has been a word used often against Valdez, especially in the days leading up to the ESPN main event.

Valdez argued that he made a mistake by ingesting a stimulant, not a PED (performance enhancing drug). He added that there’s a disparity between VADA and the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances.

WADA permits the use of Phentermine, in and out of competition.

“The fact that I got accused of being a cheater, it really hurt me,” Valdez said.

“It really brought me down. I made a human mistake by paying more attention to that than my fight in front of me, which was the Conceicao fight, and I saw that I didn’t do my best performance.

“[Last year] was a great learning experience. It’s definitely helped me become the fighter that I am right now. There’s nothing anybody can tell me right now, nothing Shakur Stevenson can tell me right now, that will make me lose focus on the main [objective], just to win the fight.”

Valdez retained his WBC super featherweight title by beating Conceicao by unanimous decision.

Stevenson gained the WBO strap by overcoming Jamel Herring by 10th round TKO in October.

The main event will air on ESPN around 10 p.m. ET Saturday night.