By: Hans Themistode
Although Shakur Stevenson is still in the infancy stages of his career, the former Olympic silver medalist believed that the world would soon realize his greatness.
Following his most recent performance, Stevenson is now convinced that his name should now be mentioned amongst the best fighters in the world. This past Saturday night, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Stevenson easily outboxed Oscar Valdez. In the process, Stevenson successfully unified the super featherweight division, adding Valdez’s WBC crown to his WBO title.
With Stevenson now emerging as one of boxing’s premier talents, the now unified champion is enjoying his time in the spotlight. Presently, Stevenson believes he has a bevy of options for his next ring appearance. However, seemingly at the top of his list, is current pound-for-pound star and former two-time Olympic gold medalist, Vasiliy Lomachenko.
“I’m down for a Vasiliy Lomachenko fight,” said Stevenson on the DAZN Boxing Show. “I don’t duck no action. I don’t care who it is, I’m gonna keep the same energy. I’m down for that type of fight.”
Lomachenko, 34, has bounced back nicely since suffering defeat at the hands of Teofimo Lopez in 2020. The multiple division star made it look incredibly easy against Masayoshi Nakatani, stopping the rough and rugged Japanese native in the ninth round. Shortly after, Lomachenko closed out his 2021 campaign with a one-sided victory over Richard Commey.
With Lomachenko returning to his winning ways, the 34-year-old was chosen by current unified 135-pound titlist, George Kambosos Jr., as his next opponent. While Lomachenko was honored, he elected against taking Kambosos Jr. up on his offer. Instead, Lomachenko opted to stay in his native land of Ukraine to help fend off attacks from the ongoing Russian invasion.
Presently, it’s unknown when Lomachenko will return to the ring. However, he has given his thoughts on a possible showdown against Stevenson in the past, stating on numerous occasions that he would only be willing to drop down in weight to take on his fellow Olympian if and only if, Stevenson became an undisputed champion.
If, for whatever reason, Lomachenko changes his mind and decides to return to 130-pounds to face Stevenson, the former Olympic silver medalist wouldn’t be so quick to face Lomachenko though. While Stevenson loves the thought of facing the former Olympic gold medalist, becoming an undisputed champion has always been a longtime dream for him.
“Truth be told, I’m torn between all the belts and a big fight.”