Shakur Stevenson Will Fight For The Vacant WBC Lightweight Belt In November – Says Bob Arum

Bob Arum has confirmed that Shakur Stevenson will fight for the vacant WBC lightweight belt in November. 

Following Devin Haney’s move up to 140, the WBC stripped the undisputed lightweight champion by making him a ‘champion in recess.’

As a result, Stevenson will fight the next-highest-ranked opponent for the belt. As of now, that would be Vasiliy Lomachenko.

But given that the latter plans to take the rest of the year out, before he decides what he intends to do next, another opponent must be found.

Speculation has emerged that this could be Frank Martin. He is currently ranked number four by the WBC following his unanimous-decision win over Artem Harutyunyan.

However, if Martin does not take the bout, it would have to be another boxer from the top 15. With that being said, this is what Arum had to say.

so if Vasiliy Lomachenko is not in play for Shakur Stevenson this fall, what is the plan according to Bob Arum? #boxing… pic.twitter.com/mSY1DrcLny

— Steve Kim (@SteveKim323) August 11, 2023

“Lomachenko is balking about fighting this year. He wants to take time off. He can’t get focused on fighting. I don’t think it has anything to do with Shakur.

“Definitely [Shakur fights in November]. We’re going to get the best possible opponent, and he’s going to fight for the WBC [lightweight] title,” Arum 

Outside of Martin, George Kambosos Jr. could be an option. The Australian and Stevenson did clash following the former’s win over Maxi Hughes.

Stevenson claimed Hughes had been robbed while making it clear that he was not impressed with Kambosos’ skills. So, moving forward, Stevenson has plenty of options.