Former unified super-featherweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, could well be next for the winner of the upcoming undisputed lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasily Lomachenko, according to Top Rank Promoter, Bob Arum.
Stevenson is a two-division champion, having achieved world honours at both featherweight and super-featherweight, and is set to make his lightweight debut this weekend.
Already there is an expectancy that ‘Shak’ could go on to dominate the 135lb ranks and is already considered to be one of the top contenders for the throne, currently occupied by Haney.
In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Bob Arum declared that he will be pushing to make the fight between Stevenson and either Haney or Lomachenko, once their respective bouts have been completed and assuming the 25-year-old is victorious on Saturday night.
“The lightweight division is really loaded with good fighters, and the fight that I always wanted to see was either Haney or Loma against Shakur Stevenson.
Again, [Ryan] Garcia and Tank Davis are terrific lightweights, and they’re in the mix. The kid that is waiting in the wings that has proven himself as so talented is Shakur.”
“After this fight [Haney vs. Lomachenko], and if Shakur is successful. Shakur has been with us for years, so I’m going to push him as the opponent for the winner of this fight.
I can’t say because these guys have their own agendas, and the timetable is really based on them. So, I’ll look at this fight and make plans for future fights after.”
Stevenson will face Japanese lightweight, Shuichiro Yoshino, who knocked out Masayoshi Nakatani, a previous opponent of Lomachenko’s, inside six rounds in his last outing.
Yoshino is ranked #4 in the division by the WBC and should prove to be a solid test for the lightweight newcomer, in an event that UK fans can tune into on Sky Sports this Saturday. Those in the States can watch on ESPN.