By: Sean Crose
WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson will be facing Joe Cordina on the Artur Beterbirev-Dmitry Bivol undisputed light heavyweight title card on October 12th in Saudi Arabia. The 22-0 Stevenson last fought in July when he bested Artem Harutyunyn in his hometown of Newark via unanimous decision. The 17-1 Cordina last saw action back in May when he was stopped by Anthony Cacace in 8. The Stevenson-Cordina bout is scheduled for 12. Saudi Arabia’s boxing guru, Turki Alalshikh, indicated he’s happy to have Stevenson fighting in his homeland. Speaking of Stevenson to ESPN, Alalshikh claimed “there’s a big fight with him in the future.”
While it’s true that Stevenson-Cordina isn’t a “big fight,” the 32 year old Cordina is a former world titlist who once held the IBF super featherweight crown. Indeed, Stevenson will be Crodina’s first opponent since the Welshman lost his title to Cacace earlier this year. Stevenson was supposed to be facing rising star William Zepeda, but it looks like that battle may be next – provided Stevenson gets past Cordina in the fall. Should Cordina pull off the upset, he will indeed become the toast of the sport. Stevenson, however is lauded for being one of the great talents of this era.
Unfortunately for Stevenson, he doesn’t always present as the most enjoyable of ring warriors. As Boxing Insider wrote after his last outing: “While the 22-0 Stevenson clearly dominated the fight with Harutyunyan, he failed to excite, even when he was clearly doing damage to his opponent.” Stevenson even “had to endure the boos of some in his hometown audience on his way to victory. The fans obviously wanted more.” It’s too early to tell if Stevenson will impress or not when he squares off against Cordina in Saudi Arabia, but the man may simply not be in possession of a thrilling ring presence.
The Beterbiev-Bivol fight is one of the more anticipated bouts of the year for hardcore fight fans. Both men are undefeated and dominant. What’s more, their battle has been a long time in coming. In short, Beterbiev and Bivol are highlighting a card of note, the kind of card that draws attention. And there’s nothing wrong with getting more attention if your name is Shakur Stevenson – unless that attention comes from being beaten by Cordia. Yet it’s hard to imagine a disciplined professional such as Stevenson entering the ring in Riyadh anything less than one hundred percent prepared.