Initially, the move to 130-pounds was more of a cautionary one. Having won the WBO featherweight title against Joet Gonzalez in October of 2019, Shakur Stevenson envisioned a long and dominant reign. But, with the former Olympic silver medalist growing rapidly, he would go on to make his 130-pound debut less than seven months later.
Thus far, Stevenson’s otherworldly skills have translated to his second weight class just fine. With back-to-back victories over Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez, the 25-year-old now reigns supreme as the division’s only unified champion.
Currently, in what will be the first defense of his WBC and WBO titles, Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) will take on Robson Conceicao on September 23rd. While he’s anxious to return to the ring, Stevenson admits that his time at 130-pounds might be a short-lived one.
“It all depends on the weight cut at the end of the day,” said Stevenson during an interview with Thaboxingvoice. “I done (did) amazing things at 130-pounds already. My last two fights to be specific, I done put on shows and I done did a lot at the weight, so if I struggle with the weight cut and it be hard on me, I think I’m going up to 135. Tell them boys get ready.”
Should Stevenson emerge victoriously against Conceicao and move forward with a possible trek to the lightweight division, he could find himself squaring off against some of the more prominent names in all of boxing.
Presently, Gervonta Davis, Vasiliy Lomachenko, someone Stevenson has been recently linked to, and Devin Haney - all preside toward the top of the lightweight division. In most circumstances, Stevenson has shown a propensity to call out whomever is considered the best fighter in his given weight class. Nevertheless, the slick southpaw refuses to do so this time around. Instead, Stevenson reveals that showdowns against every top fighter at 135-pounds is what he craves most.
“I ain’t gonna say no names, I want the top guys. I don’t wanna sit back and cherry pick or be fighting those fighters that’s not at the top level.”