Shakur Stevenson is a free agent no longer, as Matchroom Boxing announced today that they’ve signed the WBC lightweight champion ahead of his October 12th title defense against Joe Cordina.
“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 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.”
The press release doesn’t say how long their partnership will be. Julius Julianis previously reported that Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO) intended to stay with them for only a single fight, but the implication here seems to be that he’ll work with Matchroom for the Zepeda fight as well. Considering how close Matchroom is with Golden Boy, that seems like the easiest way to go about it.
The WBC called Zepeda’s mandatory earlier this year, but per Mike Coppinger, Zepeda wanted to delay it in preparation for the birth of his child.