A world champion has expressed his “big belief” in defeating Shakur Stevenson, who is still yet to announce an opponent for his Zuffa Boxing debut.
The 29-year-old inked a multi-fight deal with Dana White’s promotional outfit earlier this year, coming off a unanimous decision victory over Teofimo Lopez in January.
It was arguably a career-best performance, in fact, that saw Stevenson become a four-division world champion and cement himself as one of boxing’s pound-for-pound stars.
Since announcing his landmark promotional deal, though, the American has seemingly progressed no closer to securing an opponent for later this year.
One would suspect that he is planning on fighting once more in 2026, yet there has been no mention of a date or location for his next outing.
In terms of an opponent for 2027, however, the WBO super-lightweight champion could be tempted by a unification match with WBC counterpart Dalton Smith.
The Sheffield man claimed his world title with a fifth-round finish over Subriel Matias in January, but must now make a mandatory defence against former champion Alberto Puello.
Should he emerge victorious on October 24, then Smith has told talkSPORT that he would be eager to face Stevenson next year.
“All respect to Shakur. I’ve known him [since] the amateurs … He’s always praised me, always given me respect, and I’ll always do that for him.
“He’s one hell of a fighter but, if we can get a fight made, of course I’m grabbing it with both hands. I’ve got the big belief that I’m going to beat him.
“That’s a fight, for me, that rolls back the Ricky Hatton-[Floyd] Mayweather days. You want that big American name so, for me, getting that over here [the UK] or in [Las] Vegas would be a dream come true.”
While Stevenson still holds the WBO title, it remains to be seen whether he will defend the belt or even continue to campaign at 140lbs.
