Shakur Stevenson has already made his future plans perfectly clear after he collides with Teofimo Lopez early next year.
While an official announcement is yet to emerge, the WBC world lightweight champion is nonetheless expected to face Lopez in the first quarter of 2026.
For Stevenson, this represents an opportunity to become a three-weight world champion, with Lopez’s WBO super-lightweight title set to be on the line.
The 28-year-old produced an assertive performance against William Zepeda, his then-mandatory challenger, in July, offering a compelling blend of aggression and technical prowess as he claimed a unanimous decision victory.
But despite successfully defending his WBC title, it seems a lack of opportunities at 135lbs has since inspired Stevenson to take his business elsewhere.
First on the agenda is a mouth-watering clash with Lopez, who retained his WBO title with a convincing points victory over Arnold Barboza Jr in May.
Prior to that, ‘The Takeover’ had trudged through two uninspiring wins against Steve Claggett and Jamaine Ortiz, which followed a far more impressive triumph over Josh Taylor.
That Taylor victory, along with a previous career-defining display against Vasyl Lomachenko, has largely kept everyone hoping that Lopez is still capable of producing another enchanting performance.
Perhaps the 28-year-old will do just that against Stevenson, but Shakur appears to already have his next move lined up, after revealing he is open to entering a welterweight clash against Conor Benn in April.
Posting on social media, Stevenson outlined his plans for next year.
“Teo —> Conor. 2026 Will be my greatest year yet!”
The message from Stevenson was in response to Benn’s comments, who explained to Ring Magazine that he has already spoken to the WBC lightweight champion.
“I messaged Shakur. I said, ‘Listen, if you’re really about it, let’s do it next. I don’t just do the social media thing for bants.’
“I said we can do that next, in April, and he said, ‘Cool, let me get Teo out the way. We’ll do it in April.’
“So you may be seeing me and Shakur next.”
Benn exacted his revenge over Chris Eubank Jr at middleweight earlier this month, and the Brit has since expressed his eagerness to move back down to 147lbs, where a future clash with Stevenson could now be waiting.
