Here’s a possible fight, an actual call-out that could perhaps lead to a fight, that nobody really could have seen coming. Shakur Stevenson, the reigning WBC lightweight champion, has taken to social media to call out British warrior Conor Benn. Benn as we know is a natural 147 pounder, though he recently fought Chris Eubank Jr up at a higher weight, with Benn coming in a little above 156 pounds for the domestic grudge-match.
That thrilling fight, that saw Benn go down on points, sure got plenty of attention along with respect, this all over the boxing world. And now 135 pounder Stevenson wants a piece of Benn. And Shakur says he is willing to move up some 19 pounds to get the fight.
Stevenson calls out Benn at 154—“Too sharp, too smart”
“I’d go to 154lbs for Conor Benn….I’m gonna pick you apart,” Stevenson wrote in a social media post. “Too sharp, too much speed, too smart. And hitting me with a big shot gonna be the last thing you do.”
And Benn shot back with a reply in the affirmative:
“You wanna do it next Shakur? Let’s run it. No cheap talk,” Benn wrote.
So, could this out-of-nowhere matchup actually happen? We’ve seen stranger things. In the meantime, Stevenson, perfect at 23-0(11), has to come through okay in his upcoming July 12 fight with the always-aggressive William Zepeda, 33-0(27). While Benn has said himself that he has other options; and that return fight with British rival Eubank Jr is still being both talked about and called for by many fans.
Huge risk or big money move? Shakur’s jump would be bold
Stevenson, if he moved up to 154 to fight Benn (he’d likely come in around 148-149), would really be taking a risk. As good as he is, as special as he is, Stevenson would be facing a bigger, stronger, far harder punching foe in the 23-1(14) Benn.
And as we’ve heard over and over lately—especially with the Canelo vs. Crawford fight looming—there are weight classes for a reason.
Eddie Hearn, by the way, is very much interested in making a Stevenson-Benn fight. Maybe, just maybe, this one actually gets signed.
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