Shakur Stevenson’s stint as a free agent is over.
The WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing, it was announced on Thursday, two days after it was revealed that Stevenson would defend his title against Joe Cordina on the undercard of the undisputed light heavyweight championship matchup between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in the fall.
“I am ready to start this next chapter of my career and it begins on October 12 with Joe Cordina on the stacked Riyadh Season card in Saudi Arabia,” said Stevenson.
“I’ve made it clear that I want the biggest names and the biggest fights in the sport. Bring on [WBC lightweight mandatory challenger] William Zepeda at the top of 2025 and I’m ready for anyone who is brave enough to step in the ring with me. There have been few willing to take on that challenge in recent years.
“With Matchroom and Riyadh Season, I am teaming up with a promotional force that matches my world-class talent. We will be unstoppable in and out of the ring, and I will continue to show my dominance for many years to come in the sport of boxing.”
Stevenson’s run with career-long promoter Top Rank came to an end once the southpaw scored a unanimous decision against Artem Harutyunyan in July.
After turning down a five-fight, $15 million deal from Top Rank, Stevenson started fielding calls with the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But Stevenson ultimately stuck with Matchroom head Eddie Hearn, as the UK-based executive praised Stevenson in recent months as a generational great and promised him greener pastures featuring career-defining fights.
“I am delighted to welcome what I believe is a pound-for-pound great to the Matchroom team,” said Hearn. “Shakur Stevenson is 27 and already a three-division world champion and might be unbeatable in the sport of boxing.
“This young man should be a global superstar, and I believe with our machine behind him, he will land all the big fights and receive all the credit that he deserves.
“The journey begins on October 12 in Riyadh on a huge card, and we cannot wait for the future together.”
After a short-lived abrupt retirement earlier this year, Stevenson maintained his time would come while firing back at every detractor who came after him calling him a boring fighter. Now, the next chapter of the 2016 Olympics silver medalist’s career will be written under the Matchroom banner while being guided by an advisory team headed by James Prince and Josh Dubin.
Stevenson has already scored wins against a group headlined by Edwin De Los Santos, Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceicao and Jamel Herring throughout his seven-year pro career but has been calling higher-profile clashes, previously claiming that Top Rank stalled his career.
Fights against the likes of Gervonta Davis, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo Lopez Jr. never came close to crossing the finish line, and it will now fall on Hearn to get it done.
But it appears the hard-hitting tour de force Zepeda is next in line if Stevenson gets past Cordina.
Matchroom and Stevenson will have an introductory press conference in Los Angeles next week to provide further details on their pact.
Stevenson is the latest American star to be added to the Matchroom roster, joining IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis and WBC super flyweight champion Jesse Rodriguez.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine, and more. He’s been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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