Shakur Stevenson could soon find himself in the ring with a fellow world champion, but only if he agrees to remain at 140lbs.
The 29-year-old comes off a masterful points victory over Teofimo Lopez, who he dethroned for the WBO super-lightweight title in January.
In doing so, Stevenson also became a four-division world champion and has expressed a willingness to drop back down to 135lbs for the right opportunity.
Either way, his next outing will be promoted by Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, who announced its multi-fight deal with the pound-for-pound talent last month.
Since putting pen to paper, Stevenson has named Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis as two of his most desirable opponents, yet both fighters represent unrealistic options for his next assignment.
More likely, it seems, is a clash with IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla, who Stevenson has previously highlighted as a possible opponent.
‘Danger’ comes off an impressive points victory over Andy Cruz in January, with his second title defence coming against Robson Conceicao, another Olympic gold medallist, later tonight.
Speaking with Sean Zittel, Muratalla’s trainer Robert Garcia said his charge would be keen to jump up in weight for a clash with Stevenson.
“Shakur’s the champion at 140[lbs], so there’s no need to make it at 135[lbs]. Shakur’s also a smart man and might think [135lbs is the best weight], because he knows Raymond’s a big boy.
“He told me this is the fight he really wants so, if everything goes well [against Conceicao], I would love that fight. But not at 135[lbs].”
While not revealing the details of Muratalla’s contract with Top Rank, his promoter, Garcia seems confident that a Stevenson fight could soon become realistic.
