Twenty-five-year-old Shakur Stevenson did what he was best at. On 30th April and 23rd September, he fought WBC’s top-ranked Oscar Valdez, and no.2 ranked Robson Conceicao, respectively. The southpaw dragged both fights to the penultimate round and won unanimously. It speaks volumes about the man’s doggedness, with the lengths he is willing to take, by tiring out the opponents, leaving them blank and unable to answer his questions. The unbeaten former featherweight and super featherweight champion is busy preparing a roster of fights to take on in 2023. However, it comes in the wake of some top names in the WBC’s lightweight division refusing to fight a title eliminator with Stevenson.

Lomachenko, Tank Davis, 2023 targets for Shakur Stevenson

Among the top names on his crosshairs, Shakur’s favorite picks remain Vasyl Lomachenko and Gervonta Davis. Loma, who returned to the ring, on 29th October defeated Jamaine Ortiz unanimously. It clears the line for taking on the reigning champion Devin Haney.

Gervonta ‘The Tank’, after successfully defending his WBA (Regular) lightweight title against Rolando Romero on 28th May, has a packed schedule next year. He will take on Hector Luis Garcia on 14th January, followed by what many terms the Fight of the Year against WBC’s second-ranked Ryan Garcia.

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Shakur said, “We already looked for some top guys at lightweight, and actually, they turned me down already. “Guys like Isaac Cruz turned me down; that’s a top guy that fought ‘Tank’ [Gervonta Davis]. It’s real weird that they would turn down a guy that never fought one fight at 135 lbs…”

Laying bare his plans, the former champion, who is yet to face a defeat, mentioned on approaching the title fight straight. 

‘Total Garbage’: Boxing World Reacts to ‘Unprofessional’ Shakur Stevenson’s Recent Fiasco

As it comes about, the lightweight division will have four titles vacant, with the reigning champion Devin Haney moving out, irrespective of the outcome against Lomachenko. But, on the other hand, win or lose, Loma will be crossing paths with Shakur. 

The fighter conveyed a possibility of a face-off against Gervonta Davis, WBA’s Regular Lightweight champion, “I’ll probably fight Lomachenko. That could be after he fights Haney. I think that me and him could fight. I know Devin plans on going to 140 lbs…After [Lomachenko], I want to fight ‘Tank. I want to fight ‘Tank,’…”

The title eliminators that never happened

Things would have been different had Isaac Cruz, who stands fourth per WBC ranks, accepted a title eliminator against the New Jersey native. But, per reports, the former wanted to try a hand at the title straight through IBF, hence the refusal.

The offer met with a similar outcome when it reached fourteenth-ranked William Zepeda, followed by the former lightweight champion from Australia, George Kambosos Jr. The eliminator fight would have settled the questions on the WBC-mandated challenger to go against Devin Haney.

Shakur Stevenson won the Bantamweight Silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In a professional career that started in 2017, he fought 19 times. All end in wins. After defeating Robson Conceicao, he immediately jumped to lightweight.

Watch Out for More: Lomachenko takes a swipe at Devin Haney