By: Hans Themistode
Despite being good friends, Shakur Stevenson continued to scream and shout for his mandatory title shot against WBO super featherweight titlist, Jamel Herring. Now, after winning the WBO interim strap against Jeremia Nakathila on June 12th, earlier this year, he’ll get his wish.
As first reported by Dan Rafael, formerly with ESPN, promoter Bob Arum has a set date of November 13th for the pair to face off. No site has been confirmed as yet but all signs point to their clash taking place next.
News of his title shot taking place soon, will bring an immediate smirk to the face of Stevenson. Since winning silver at the 2016 Olympic Games, the New Jersey native has been spectacular as a pro. In only his 13th professional fight, Stevenson captured the WBO featherweight title with a one-sided route over Joet Gonzalez. He was unable to defend his newly won belt, however, as he opted to move up in weight.
Both Herring and Stevenson have shared numerous training camp sessions and worked closely with one another. Still though, while Stevenson has great reverence for Herring as a fighter, his mindset has always been “business is business.”
As for Herring, the former Marine was hoping to secure a unification clash with WBC titlist, Oscar Valdez. The 35-year-old has reeled off seven straight wins since his defeat at the hands of Ladarius Miller in 2017.
Recently, Herring picked up the biggest of his career in his last ring outing. On April 3rd, earlier this year, Herring took on former multiple division champion, Carl Frampton. Despite being the underdog, Herring dominated Frampton, dropping him twice before finishing him off in the sixth round and ultimately sending him into retirement.