Shakur Stevenson ordered to face Raymond Muratalla as promoters circle

The matter of who will pay Shakur Stevenson to get back into the ring moved toward a possible resolution Tuesday when the WBO ordered him to face unbeaten former lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla.

In a letter to Muratalla promoter Bob Arum and Stevenson co-managers James Prince and Josh Dubin, WBO championship committee chairman Luis Batista Salas ordered the sides to begin negotiations, setting a November 16 deadline to “reach mutually acceptable terms.”

If no agreement is reached, the bout will go to a purse bid, allowing all promoters to submit offers to stage the fight.

Arum's Top Rank was Stevenson's first promoter, guiding the 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist to the first three of his four divisional titles.

Stevenson, 25-0 (11 KOs), however, has not fought since his one-sided unanimous-decision victory over three-division champion Teofimo Lopez on January 31.

Over the summer, the new Zuffa Boxing promotion, headed by UFC CEO and President Dana White and WWE head Nick Khan, signed Stevenson. However, the sides failed to secure a fight following negotiations involving Manny Pacquiao and Devin Haney, and Stevenson was subsequently granted his release.

BoxingScene was told Tuesday by an official close to the negotiations that there has been a “feeding frenzy” among potential new Stevenson suitors, including DAZN and Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, who are “trying to secure a deal.”

Upon parting with Zuffa, Stevenson said he looked forward to making big fights against the best possible opponents at 135 and 140lbs. An official close to him said the Newark, New Jersey, champion is “of course” interested in facing Muratalla.

Ironically, Zuffa would have the opportunity to promote Stevenson-Muratalla should it participate in, and win, the purse bid.

However, Zuffa has yet to participate in a purse bid, and one official said not to expect the company to return to business with Stevenson.

“It'll be interesting to see what his market value is,” the individual said.

Muratalla, of Fontana, California, won the IBF lightweight title in January with a majority-decision victory over Cuba's Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz.

Muratalla, 25-0 (17 KOs), then successfully defended his belt against another Olympic gold medalist, former world champion Robson Conceicao of Brazil, in August.

Trained by two-time reigning Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, Muratalla subsequently expressed his intention to leave the lightweight division and was promptly installed at No. 1 in the WBO's 140lbs rankings.