Shakur Stevenson arguably put in the best performance of his career during his last outing.
He was defending his WBC lightweight title against previously unbeaten William Zepeda at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York in July, in a bout that many fans felt would provide a stern test for the reigning champion.
Stevenson had received a lot of criticism in the build-up for some of his recent lacklustre performances, and he appeared to silence the naysayers by fighting fire with fire throughout all 12 rounds against Zepeda, proving he is capable of having a fan-friendly style.
It resulted in him claiming a unanimous decision victory, as he extended his own undefeated record to 24-0 and displayed the credentials that have seen him become a three-weight world champion.
He may now be targeting world honours in another division, after becoming embroiled in a war of words on social media with current WBO super-lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez.
Lopez himself was a former unified world champion at lightweight, before stepping up to 140lbs and holding gold there for the past several years.
His last victory came in May when he defended his belt against Arnold Barboza at Times Square in New York, and he took to social media to reveal that a fight has been ‘agreed’ with Stevenson and that it could take place in January.
“It’s going to feel good when this “lil dude” makes you his “lil bi*ch” in January! I suggest you take all the SNAC you possibly can, & even that won’t help.”
Stevenson then had a response of his own.
“U called me out lil dude, I told u I’m down….
U know what feels even better u agreeing to the fight now shut yo p**sy ass up and make it happen.”
If the fight does indeed go ahead, it will certainly kick off 2026 with a bang.
