Shakur Stevenson Unsure If Fight Against Marriaga Will Be Rescheduled

Miguel Marriaga wasn’t one of the options Shakur Stevenson’s handlers considered for his fight Tuesday night.

Travel restrictions related to COVID-19 would’ve prevented Colombia’s Marriaga from flying to the United States to face Stevenson. Even if Marriaga remained in the U.S. once his March 14 fight versus Stevenson was canceled March 12, he might not have been the unbeaten WBO featherweight champion’s opponent for this fight.

The budget for this weeknight show is lower than what was available for the card they were scheduled to headline March 14 at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York. The 22-year-old Stevenson – who was set to make a career-high, seven-figure purse to defend his title against Marriaga – also wants to learn how he’ll feel fighting at the junior lightweight limit of 130 pounds for the first time.

Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs), who’ll oppose Puerto Rico’s Felix Caraballo (13-1-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round, non-title fight Tuesday night in Las Vegas, hasn’t ruled out facing Marriaga at some point, though.

“They didn’t bring up Marriaga,” Stevenson told BoxingScene.com. “I assumed he couldn’t get into the country. But it could happen in the future. Or maybe we could get a bigger fight. I don’t know. Marriaga is a solid opponent, so we might still get Marriaga in the ring. We’ve just gotta see how everything goes with the pandemic.”

The 33-year-old Marriaga (29-3, 25 KOs) has won four straight bouts by knockout or technical knockout since Ukraine’s Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) stopped him after seven one-sided rounds in a fight for Lomachenko’s WBO junior lightweight title in August 2017 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The Colombian veteran moved back down to the featherweight division after Lomachenko beat him, but he probably would face Stevenson in a 130-pound bout if it were offered.

The chances of that fight getting rescheduled depend on Stevenson’s options both at featherweight and junior lightweight. He told BoxingScene.com that a title unification fight against England’s Josh Warrington is the only bout that could prevent Stevenson from vacating his WBO 126-pound crown and remaining at 130 pounds after Tuesday night.

Warrington (30-0, 7 KOs) intends to face China’s Can Xu (18-2, 3 KOs), the WBA’s secondary title-holder, in a championship unification match at some point after fans are allowed to attend boxing matches in Warrington’s hometown of Leeds, England.

Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., Stevenson’s promoter, also represents 130-pound champions Miguel Berchelt (WBC) and Jamel Herring (WBO).

Berchelt (37-1, 33 KOs) is expected to fight fellow Mexican Oscar Valdez (27-0, 21 KOs) in his next appearance, though that bout hasn’t been scheduled. Herring (21-2, 10 KOs), of Coram, New York, is set to oppose Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Oquendo (31-6, 19 KOs) on July 2 at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

Stevenson says he will only challenge Herring, whom he considers a close friend, if it is the only 130-pound title shot that the Newark, New Jersey, native can secure.

For now, Stevenson is fully focused on beating Caraballo. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist is listed by most Internet sports books as at least a 100-1 favorite to win the main event of a five-fight show ESPN will televise in its entirety Tuesday from MGM Grand Conference Center (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.