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Featherweight Shakur Stevenson, the 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist and one of boxing's elite prospects, will face Jessie Cris Rosales in a 10-round fight on Jan. 18, Top Rank announced Thursday. The fight, at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, will serve as the co-feature of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card (9:30 p.m. ET for main card, full card beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET). The previously announced heavyweight bout between former world title challenger Bryant Jennings (24-2, 14 KOs), of Philadelphia, and Oscar Rivas (25-0, 17 KOs), a Colombia native fighting out of Montreal, is the other feature fight. Stevenson (9-0, 5 KOs), 21, of Newark, New Jersey, fought five times in 2018 and stamped himself as one of the boxing's best up-and-comers, closing out his year with a surprising first-round knockout of battle-tested Viorel Simion on Oct. 13. Now Stevenson will face Rosales (22-1-1, 10 KOs), 27, of the Philippines, whose only defeat came two fights ago by second-round knockout at the hands of former two-division world titlist Jhonny Gonzalez, long one of boxing's best punchers. "I am ready to fight the best featherweights in the world," Stevenson said. "2019 is going to be a year to remember for me. Rosales is a tough opponent, but he's going to be no match for my speed and power." The card will also feature the professional debut of Vikas "The Indian Tank" Krishan, the former two-time Indian Olympian and the most decorated amateur in Indian history. He will face Steven Andrade (3-3, 2 KOs), 32, of Cartersville, Georgia, in a scheduled six-round junior middleweight bout. Krishan, a 26-year-old southpaw who signed with Top Rank in November, represented India at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and is the only Indian boxer to win gold medals at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games. At the 2012 Olympics, he was awarded a victory against Errol Spence Jr., now a welterweight world titleholder, only to have the win overturned hours later because of fouls committed during the match. "I was an amateur for a very long time, and the time was finally right to turn pro," Krishan said. "I do not take this opportunity lightly and I look forward to showcasing my skills to boxing fans from around the world. I also want to show that Indians are not only good in medical studies, but we know how to fight as well." Krishan trains in Newark with Wali Moses, Stevenson's grandfather, but he also plans to continue to train with the Indian National Team with the possibility of attempting to make the 2020 Olympic team now that professional fighters are allowed to compete. Also on the card: • Junior middleweight Carlos Adames (15-0, 12 KOs) will face Juan Ruiz (21-3, 13 KOs) in an eight- or 10-round fight. • Junior lightweight Robson Conceicao (10-0, 5 KOs), a 2016 Brazilian Olympic gold medalist, will face Hector Ambriz (12-8-2, 6 KOs) in an eight-round fight. • Former secondary junior lightweight titlist Jason Sosa (21-3-4, 15 KOs) will square off with Moises Delgadillo (17-18-2, 9 KOs) in an eight- or 10-round bout. • Junior welterweight Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (6-0, 3 KOs), a 2016 Olympic gold medalist from Uzbekistan, will fight Ricardo Garcia (14-4-1, 9 KOs) in an eight-round bout. • Heavyweight Cassius Chaney (14-0, 8 KOs) will take on Michael Glasscox (6-2-2, 5 KOs) in a six-round fight.
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