Stevenson Will Face Frank Martin For The WBC Title, Danny Jacobs Wants Jermall Charlo

Shakur Stevenson has been ordered to face Frank Martin for the vacant WBC title at 135 pounds.

Stevenson became the mandatory after beating Shuichiro Yoshino in the sixth round to introduce himself to the lightweight division. Meanwhile, Martin’s last fight was a unanimous-decision win over Artem Harutyunyan.

The news comes after the WBC decided to strip Devin Haney after he moved up to 140 pounds.

As a result, the former became a ‘champion in recess’ that would have allowed Haney to fight for the winner of the WBC belt if he did decide to move back down to 135.

And given that Stevenson was his mandatory, he was required to fight the next-highest-available contender.

At the time, that was Vasiliy Lomachenko. Although that may have been the case, Bob Arum did confirm that he was not going to be fighting this year. Therefore, Martin has emerged as the next contender.

Arum On Stevenson

“I met with Egis before he went off to Poland for the Usyk fight. We tried to make the fight between Shakur and Loma. And Egis told us that Loma has decided that he’s not fighting again this year. So, the fact that they’re talking about a fight with Loma and Kambosos is nonsense. Egis would not mislead us, and he told us that Loma wants to take the rest of the year off,” Arum said 

Stevenson’s Mandatory

If the duo cannot agree a deal for a fight moving forward, then a purse bid meeting will be held on September 5th, 2023. And if Top Rank does end up winning that, then a bout will take place on November 18th, 2023.

The move is vital as it will potentially give Shakur Stevenson the opportunity to grab another belt and target mega fights with either Gervonta Davis or Devin Haney.

“The WBC has ordered two-division champion Shakur Stevenson and 18-0 Frank Martin to fight for their vacant lightweight title.

“There’s an ongoing conversation between Top Rank and PBC. That’s always fun. But if they can’t reach an agreement, there’s a purse bid scheduled for September 5.

“I don’t know where PBC would put the fight, but Top Rank is looking at Las Vegas in November to kick off the F1 Grand Prix weekend in Vegas. By the way, how we got here? After Haney beat Loma, Shakur was the [WBC] mandatory,” Kriegel

“Lomachenko passed [on the option of fighting Shakur for the vacant WBC lightweight title]. Isaac Cruz is next up in the rankings. He apparently has a date with Tank Davis. Frank Martin is next in the rankings [at #4 WBC]. I think it’s a great fight,” ESPN’s Max Kriegel said 

Jacobs Vs. Charlo

Much in the same way, Daniel Jacobs has revealed that he is targeting a comeback fight against Jermall Charlo.

Jacobs is a former two-time champion, showing that he does have what it takes to win at the highest level.

Although that may have been the case, in the biggest of his career against Canelo Alvarez, the American came up short in 2019.

Thereafter, Jacobs only fought three times in his career since that loss, as his career stalled. This included wins over Gabriel Rosado, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and then a loss to John Ryder.

In addition to this, Charlo has been out of the ring for sometime. He has not fought since his win over Juan Macias Montiel. That was all the way back in 2021, as the boxer has struggled with personal and mental health issues.

However, since that moment, he has made it clear that he is targeting a return to the ring by 2023. Therefore, such a fight could make sense for both fighters who are looking to return to the ring in style.

“I’m not beefing with anybody, but everyone knows I’ve been wanting for years to fight Jermall Charlo. That’s the fight that I still want. I don’t know what’s going on with it. I’m ready for that fight, mentally & physically. We’ll see what happens in the future.

“I got one or two more in me. I’m looking for the right fight. I ain’t looking for no step aside, no fill-in fights. It’s been a few years since I’ve been calling out people, and I haven’t received any feedback. I’m just waiting for the right fight, but like I said, the time will come,” Jacobs

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