Shakur Stevenson has “BIG surprise” opponent, could be Lomchenko next

By Albert Craine - 01/14/2022 - Comments

WBO super featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson has told his 95,000 followers on Twitter that he’s got a “Big surprise” opponent in store for his next fight.

The unbeaten 23-year-old Shakur (17-0, 9 KOs) isn’t giving any hints on who that opponent might be, but many boxing fans believe it’s Vasily Lomachenko.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) shares the same promoters at Top Rank with the 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur, and he dares to take a  fight of this nature.

Shakur’s best option = Lomachenko

The belief is that the other options for Stevenson are WBC 130-lb champion Oscar Valdez and undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr.

Valdez’s recent poor performance against Robson Conceicao and his indifference about the idea of taking on Shakur Stevenson in a unification fight at 130-lb make him an unlikely option.

Yes, it would be a “Big surprise” if Valdez and Stevenson were to fight, but it wouldn’t be a massive one.

Shakur Stevenson has "BIG surprise" opponent, could be Lomchenko next

Given how terrible Valdez looked against Conceicao, there won’t be as much fan interest in a fight between him and Stevenson right now as there would be if Lomachenko is the one that gets the clash.

Shakur would have a real shot at losing against Lomachenko, but you can’t say the same if he faces Valdez.

George Kambosos vs. Shakur would be HUGE

What would be a real surprise if Shakur Stevenson quit the 130-lb division and moved up to 135 to go after the vulnerable undisputed lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr.

If Top Rank could wrangle a deal for Stevenson to be the one to travel to Australia to challenge the highly confident Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs)of his four titles in May, it would be huge.

Top Rank’s best chance of turning Shakur into a superstar overnight would be for them to pay Kambosos’ asking price to have him be the one that travels to Australia for George’s maiden title defense of “them beautiful belts,” as he likes to call them.

Stevenson would very likely embarrass Kambosos in a one-sided beatdown in a fight that would catapult him into Mayweather territory. If you’re Bob Arum, it would be money well spent if he pays Kambosos’ asking price to have Shakur Stevenson be the one that faces him next.

Arum will need to act quickly because it’s believed that Matchroom Boxing [promoter Eddie Hearn has designs on having his fighter WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney face Kambosos next.

If Haney gets his hands on those four titles, it’s predictable that he’ll never give Shakur a chance to fight him. We’re already seeing the cold shoulder Haney is showing Lomachenko, and you got to believe he’s done that out of self-preservation because he doesn’t want to lose his WBC title.