Shakur Stevenson returns to the ring for his second fight of 2020, as he faces Toka Kahn Clary in the main event of a Top Rank card at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas on Saturday.

After winning the vacant WBO featherweight world title in October 2019, Stevenson (14-0, 8 KOs) moved up in weight looking for bigger challenges at junior lightweight. Stevenson headlined boxing’s return to action in June, as he defeated Felix Caraballo by sixth-round TKO. The clash with Kahn Clary is a battle of southpaws as Stevenson seeks out lofty goals for 2021 and looks to challenge for a 130-pound world title.

Kahn Clary (28-2, 19 KOs) has won three consecutive fights since losing a decision to Kid Galahad in 2018, including a TKO victory over Jonathan Perez in October.

In a very entertaining co-main event, at least on paper, Felix Verdejo takes on Masayoshi Nakatani in a 10-round lightweight bout. Verdejo (27-1, 17 KOs) was on his way up and was considered the best Puerto Rican prospect since four-division champion Miguel Cotto, but Verdejo suffered a motorcycle accident in August 2016 that derailed his career for a few months. Verdejo is 5-1 since then, including an impressive first-round TKO of Will Madera in July that reminded the boxing world of his speed and power.

Nakatani (18-1, 12 KOs) made his U.S. debut in July 2019 in a decision loss to Teofimo Lopez. Nakatani gave Lopez trouble throughout the fight, but ended up losing on the judges’ scorecards.

Super middleweight sensation Edgar Berlanga (15-0, 15 KOs) will try to continue his first-round KO streak against Ulises Sierra (15-1-2, 9 KOs) in a fight scheduled for eight rounds. All of Berlanga’s KO victories have come in the first round.

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Mark Kriegel talks about Edgar Berlanga’s abundance of power and the questions that remain about the fighter from New York.

Also on the card, MMA fighter turned boxer Clay Collard (9-2-3, 4 KOs) goes for his sixth victory of 2020 in as many fights against Quincy LaVallais (9-0-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round middleweight clash.

Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.

Fight in progress: Clay Collard vs. Quincy LaVallais, 8 rounds, middleweights

Rodriguez clinical in KO of Juarez

Saul Juarez hit the ropes. Then he fell right down. Jesse Rodriguez had been measured throughout the light flyweight fight, patient with when he threw punches and economical when he tried to land. Sure, he took a punch or two making the move in, but Rodriguez didn’t seem to care.

Rodriguez blew through whatever Juarez tried to land anyway. Rodriguez went to the body often. He moved Juarez around the ring wherever he wanted to take him. And then, at 2:05 into the second round, a left uppercut landed and Juarez bounced against the ropes and fall to the ground.

This was a good, easy fight for Rodriguez (13-0, 9 KO) against a veteran in Juarez at age 30 that has clearly hit his ceiling. Juarez (25-13-2, 13 KO) has lost five of his past six fights — and he narrowly beat Mario Andrade in 2019. Juarez hasn’t been a consistent winner since 2016, so this doesn’t tell us too much about Rodriguez, who won his fifth straight fight by knockout. Perhaps it’s time for Top Rank to put Rodriguez in the ring with a real challenge as his 2021 campaign begins.

Ramirez punishes Valdes in sixth-round TKO

Robiesy Ramirez was patient. He seemed to have control and confidence throughout his fight against Brandon Valdez, but Ramirez fought how he often does: counter-punching and using his high-level footwork and ability to bounce away from an opponent’s punches to take over a fight.

That’s exactly how the fight played out through the first five rounds. Valdes kept trying to throw punches and more often than not, Valdes either hit nothing or the guard of Ramirez. There was flair, too, from the former Olympic champion — the consistent sticking out of his tongue made that obvious, as did the tapping of his own head. In the sixth round, before the fight was stopped, Valdes lost a point for low blows — he had been warned about it in the fourth — but by then, it felt like Ramirez had control of the fight by using his defense.

Then, in the sixth, Ramirez (6-1, 4 KO) became more aggressive. He started coming forward, throwing a flurry of combinations at Valdes (13-2, 7 KO) in the final minute of the sixth round — leading the fight to be stopped with 11 seconds left in Round 6 with a combination of hooks and uppercuts.

It was a good level of aggression from Ramirez, who continues to be a fighter who feels like Top Rank is trying to push to become a name fighter sooner rather than later after a disastrous pro debut, Ramirez has rattled off six straight wins.

Brady bests Land by TKO

Haven Brady Jr. staggered for a second early in his second featherweight pro fight as Michael Land — who walked out to the ring in a robe that appeared to be inspired by a Victorian-era clown costume — was aggressive. But that was short-lived. By the second round, Brady (2-0, 2 KOs) took complete control.

Land (1-2, 1 KO) didn’t throw a punch that connected for almost 30 seconds and couldn’t get anything going in Round 2, continually absorbing uppercuts and straight right hands from Brady. It became apparent Brady was the better and more aggressive fighter, and Land didn’t seem to have much left by the end of Round 2. Land and his corner showed that, as Land did not come out for the third round, giving Brady the technical knockout.

Goldston earns first career KO over McClamy

Kasir Goldston didn’t wait too long to pick up his first career knockout. Less than two rounds into his second pro fight, the 17-year-old welterweight prospect knocked Llewelyn McClamy (2-1, 1 KO) down twice in under a minute in the second round to finish off the fight. Goldston (2-0, 1 KO) first dropped McClamy with a couple of left hands to McClamy’s head, and then moments later scored the second, decisive knockdown with a flurry of punches. It led to a technical knockout at 1:35 into the second round.

Goldston was the more aggressive fighter throughout the bout, consistently moving around the ring and forcing McClamy to take a defensive approach from the opening minute of the first round. McClamy showed one brief bout of productivity early in the second round, but it didn’t last as Goldston reasserted control moments later.

Still to come:

• Shakur Stevenson vs. Toka Khan Clary, 10 rounds, junior lightweights

• Felix Verdejo vs. Masayoshi Nakatani, 10 rounds, lightweights

• Edgar Berlanga vs. Ulises Sierra, 8 rounds, super middleweights

ESPN Boxing