After briefly retiring, Shakur Stevenson will return to the ring on July 6th.
Stevenson, who announced on X/Twitter in January that he was “officially retiring from the sport,” will fight at Newark's Prudential Center for the fourth time in his career. The news was first reported by author Dan Raphael.
The Newark-born genius WBC lightweight belt holder defeated Edwin de los Santos in an unforgettable bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas four months ago, making him 2nd in the super featherweight division. He won the championship twice and won the belt for the third time. Stevenson faced backlash for a performance that lacked excitement and punches.
Ten of Stevenson's 21 games went poorly, while the remaining 11 saw Stephenson win big on the scorecards. For example, reliable opponents like Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez never looked like they could win and were defeated in 12 rounds.
The 135-pound division will gain a new belt holder on May 12 in Australia when George Kambosos and Vasyl Lomachenko fight for the IBF title.At lightweight, Gervonta Davis holds the WBA strap, but a future fight for the vacant WBO belt is expected to take place between Emmanuel Navarrete and Dennis Belinczyk.
One name that has been rumored as a candidate to face Stephenson on July 6 is his Top Rank stablemate and rising star Raymond Muratala, who is 19-0 (16 fights). The 27-year-old Californian is scheduled to face Argentina's Agustin Ezequiel Quintana, 19-2-1 (13 KOs), on March 29 on the undercard of Oscar Valdez vs. Liam Wilson. Muratara's trainer Robert Garcia responded to online speculation on X/Twitter, denying that the match between Muratara and Stevenson is official.
