Shakur Stevenson Injures Hand Will Return Next year

Matchroom Boxing announced this afternoon that WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, who was scheduled to fight former super featherweight champion Joe Cordina on the October 12th Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol undercard, has undergone “immediate surgery” for a hand injury. Stevenson will now be out of action until “early 2025.”

Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO) was set to kick off his multi-fight contract against Cordina (17-1, 9 KO), with plans to face mandatory challenger William Zepeda early next year and potentially explore a unification bout with Gervonta “Tank” Davis before possibly returning to free agency. With Zepeda scheduled to fight Tevin Farmer in November, it seems likely that the mandatory bout will be on the horizon for Stevenson once he returns, although his contract status could influence future decisions.

As for Cordina, Eddie Hearn has indicated to David Greisman that he is working to arrange a “big fight” for the Welshman, though it’s unclear if this will be on the same card. Given the trend of solid replacements stepping up on short notice this year, it’s possible Cordina could still have a significant matchup.