Shakur Stevenson undergoes hand surgery; fight with Joe Cordina is off

Note: This story has been updated to include comments from promoter Eddie Hearn about Shakur Stevenson’s injury and what’s next for Joe Cordina.

Shakur Stevenson’s next defense of his lightweight world title – his first fight as part of the Matchroom Boxing roster – will no longer be taking place on Oct. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Stevenson has suffered a hand injury and “has undergone immediate surgery,” according to Matchroom Boxing, which posted the news on social media on Wednesday.

“Shakur damaged his hand yesterday and went to the doctor, had a scan, tore a tendon in his knuckle. Had to have immediate surgery,” promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing told Kieran Mulvaney of BoxingScene.com. “Disappointing. But that’s boxing.”

Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) was scheduled to defend his WBC belt against former junior lightweight titleholder Joe Cordina as part of the undercard of the undisputed light heavyweight championship fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

While Beterbiev-Bivol will be broadcast on ESPN+ due to an existing contractual agreement between that network, Beterbiev and promoter Top Rank, Stevenson vs. Cordina was to be part of a separate pay-per-view. 

That PPV will still feature two other title fights: Jai Opetaia defending his lineal and IBF cruiserweight titles against Jack Massey, and Skye Nicolson defending her WBC featherweight belt against Raven Chapman. The show also includes bouts such as the Fabio Wardley-Frazer Clarke rematch, a middleweight bout between Chris Eubank Jr. and Kamil Szeremeta, and light heavyweight prospect Ben Whittaker taking on Liam Cameron.

Stevenson, who earned a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics, had been with Top Rank since his pro debut, but his contract with the promoter ended after his July unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan. Stevenson turned down Top Rank’s offer to continue the relationship, reported to be worth $3 million per fight.

Stevenson’s signing with Matchroom was announced a few weeks ago. That announcement also noted Stevenson’s first time working with Turki Alalshikh, whose Riyadh Season has financially backed a number of boxing cards, including this Oct. 12 bill.

Instead, the 27-year-old American will spend the remainder of 2024 on the sideline.

“After a successful period of recovery, Stevenson is set to return to the ring in early 2025,” Matchroom said.

As for Cordina, Hearn says: “We’re gonna make him a big fight. We’ll speak to Spencer Brown, who’s working with Joe as well, and see if we can make a big fight.”

(This is a developing story. We will provide further updates as more information becomes available.)

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.