Shakur Stevenson is to be offered the unification fight with Josh Warrington he has long sought after, if he is willing to go to Warrington’s home town to do it.
BoxingScene.com understands that a deal has been agreed between Bob Arum, promoter of Stevenson, the WBO featherweight champion, and Frank Warren, the promoter of Warrington, the IBF champion, for a unification, which would take place at Elland Road, Leeds, on May 16.
Warrington has already said yes to the fight and an agreement has been made with Leeds United, the football club that owns Elland Road. It is now down to Stevenson to say yes.
Arum is due to meet with Stevenson next week after the promoter returns to the US after a trip to South Africa and will offer him the choice between the Warrington fight and headlining a Top Rank show
Stevenson called out Warrington long before he won the WBO title with a points win over Joet Gonzalez in October.
“They are coming in to see me on the Wednesday after the New Year,” Arum said. “They can fight Warrington or they can fight at Madison Square Garden on March 15.
“He has got to decide, I don’t know which way he will go. I’m torn because I would like to have him as the main event at the Garden.”
Elland Road is where Warrington beat Lee Selby to claim the IBF title in front of a 25,000 crowd in 2017. He has since successfully defended the title three times, most recently stopping Sofiane Takoucht in two rounds in October.
Leeds United are presently leading the Championship – the second tier of English football – but May 16 is a weekend that would not clash with any possible Leeds fixtures in the end-of-season play-offs.