This Saturday Shakur Stevenson stated that he would be ready to fight any lightweight that his Top Rank promoters would offer him for his return to the ring in early 2023. Bob Arum also has an absolute undefeated champion in this weight category on his contract. Devin Haney and former world champion in three weight categories Vasily Lomachenko.
Stevenson mentioned Haney and Lomachenko during his in-ring interview after a convincing win over Brazilian Robson Conceição on Friday in Newark and confirmed his desire to fight Lomachenko during the post-fight press conference.
"If the fans want me to fight Lomachenko, I'm definitely for it," Stevenson said. “I love this fight.”
The prevailing view in the boxing industry is that Top Rank will match Haney with Lomachenko if they both win their respective fights next month.
Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) has a big chance of defeating former IBF, WBA and WBO world champion George Kambosos Jr. (20-1, 10 KOs) in their rematch on October 16 in Melbourne, Australia. Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) is also a big favorite against Jamaine Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs) on October 29 in New York.
Arum, in an interview with BoxingScene.com, stated that the next fight between Haney and Lomachenko is not guaranteed if they go through their upcoming fights without injury. Haney could move up to super lightweight if he beats Kambosos again, and Lomachenko-Stevenson could be an attractive alternative.
“All these plans are just talk, they are discussed even in our office,” Arum said. “We don’t have any real plans yet. We are just going to match boxers and look for the best options for good fights. Let's say Haney beats Kambosos and Haney says, "Instead of fighting Lomachenko, I want to fight Shakur," we sit down and do it.
At the same time, 90-year-old Arum feels a sincere interest in the Lomachenko-Stevenson fight.
"It's going to be a huge fight," says Arum. - I receive information from famous people who are boxing fans, but with real views on what is happening, unlike many boxing fans. And this is the fight they all mention. This is an exciting fight. That's the point. Fights that are great fights are fights where no one really knows who will win. Fights when the opponents have close chances and there are arguments from both sides. It's a great event and a great fight."
At the same time, we can say for sure that Stevenson will hold his next fight at lightweight after he could not meet the second featherweight limit before the fight against Robson Conceição this Friday.
