Shakur Stevenson Injury Halts Fight With Joe Cordina – ‘He Damaged His Hand’
Shakur Stevenson has suffered a hand injury, so he will miss his October 12 clash with Joe Cordina.
Stevenson was set to defend his WBC Lightweight Title on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol card in what would have been Shakur’s first fight under Matchroom Boxing. It is a massive blow for Shakur, who has now undergone surgery. Eddie Hearn expects his fighter to return sometime next year by February. Stevenson had been putting in the hard yards, working with Terence Crawford in camp.
There was an emphasis on sitting down on his punches, with the aim of stopping Cordina. Cordina was coming up from 130 pounds and was stopped in his last fight against Anthony Cacace. A statement win would have increased Shakur’s commercial value which has been damaged by his defensive performance against Edwin De Los Santos and his failure to stop Artem Harutyunyan in his last fight. Hearn confirmed Shakur damaged a tendon in his knuckle during sparring.
Hearn On Stevenson
“He damaged his hand in camp. He’s been training in Colorado, sparring, and went to get scanned last night and he tore a tendon in his knuckle. He had to go for immediate surgery, which he had this morning. He’s out of surgery now, very disappointed — obviously disappointed for himself and we’re disappointed for Shakur and Joe Cordina as well and for Riyadh Season as well, but there’s nothing you can do. “Operation complete and now it’s the road to recovery for 2025. We’ve been told we can expect him to be ready for February of 2025,” Hearn said
The Cordina fight may now be off altogether. The WBC had ordered Shakur to face William Zepeda, who is his mandatory. A fight with Cordina was seen as the perfect preparation for facing an attacking Mexican, who would bring the fight to Stevenson. Zepeda will box Tevin Farmer on November 16 in his next fight with the aim to take his record to 32-0.
Oscar De La Hoya previously said Shakur would not get the Zepeda fight unless he signed with Golden Boy. However, with the influence of the Saudis, the biggest fights are being made. The winner of a potential Stevenson-Zepeda fight will make a strong case to face Gervonta Davis. While a Zepeda fight will be a tough test, Hearn expects Shakur to face him next upon his return.
Shakur’s Future
“The WBC, of course, have ordered that fight with Zepeda. Zepeda fights in November so it’s quite likely he heads straight into that fight…Joe was fired up for it and so was Shakur, looking forward to that fight and then moving into Zepeda…The plan for me was for after those two fight, to fight Gervonta Davis, and that still remains the same, whether that’s one fight or two fights,” Hearn added
The news has not kept Shakur downbeat. The WBC Champion is confident that he will return much stronger. He reassured fans that he was in great shape and hoped to come back early next year with a view to facing the best in the division.
“I am definitely disappointed that I won’t be able to fight on October 12. I have been super sharp and feeling great in camp and was planning to put on a show next month against Joe Cordina. But I have to listen to the doctor and have these injuries fixed immediately so that I can come back stronger than ever at the start of 2025,” Stevenson
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