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SHAKUR STEVENSON “WOULD LOVE” TO FIGHT VASILIY LOMACHENKO

Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Although both fighters currently have fights scheduled for next month, former 126-pound titleholder Shakur Stevenson (15-0, 8 KOs) has made it clear that he would be interested in sharing the ring with former unified Lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs). 

“Yeah, I would love to fight him,” said Stevenson of Lomachenko on a recent edition of Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. “Especially him coming off a loss, he’s trying to prove himself, and he’s gonna get back in the ring with another young killer.” 

The 23-year-old Stevenson, who won a silver medal representing the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, is one of the brightest young stars in boxing. Undefeated at 15-0, he won the vacant WBO Featherweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Joet Gonzalez in 2019. 

However, he has since vacated that title and moved up to the 130-pound division. The New Jersey native is set to return to the ring on June 12 in a fight against Jeremiah Nakathila for the vacant WBO interim Junior Lightweight title. Still, he’s continued to call out the biggest names in and around his new weight class. 

Lomachenko certainly fits the bill as one of the biggest names in the lighter-weight classes. The former two-time Olympic gold medalist is coming off an upset loss to Teofimo Lopez last October in which he surrendered his 135-pound belts, but he’ll get a chance to return to the win column when he meets Japan’s Masayoshi Nakatani on June 26. 

Although he’s currently competing at Lightweight, Lomachenko is a former 130-pound champion, and given his size, he may end up moving back down to Junior Lightweight. Stevenson thinks that would be the right move for the Ukrainian, but he’s also confident in how he would match up against him. 

“I think he’s too small for 135,” Stevenson said. “I think he should come down to 130. I think he would beat everyone at 130 except me and Tank (Davis).”

There are certainly a few things that would need to fall into place for this fight to happen, but both fighters are promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank, so it likely wouldn’t be all that difficult to book from a promotional standpoint.

And, of course, it would be a massive fight for both men. 

Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson Featuring Shakur Stevenson

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