WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is out of his October 12 fight with Joe Cordina. Stevenson had surgery on his right hand and will not be available to compete again until 2025.
Stevenson took to Instagram to announce his surgery, recovery, and removal from the fight with Cordina. Boxing Scene captured the image in the X post below, and here is the caption from Stevenson’s IG post: “God works in mysterious ways. Thru the ups and downs I’m steady hungry and motivated more then ever. 2025 gone be my best year yet. Surgery went great it’s a minor set back for a major comeback. 🎯 #ChasingGreatness”
Stevenson’s fight with Cordina was set to be his first with Matchroom Boxing as his promoter.
Stevenson signed a two-fight deal with Matchroom, and the Cordina fight was the first phase of a plan designed to push Stevenson’s career to the next level. According to Matchroom headman Eddie Hearn, Stevenson tore a tendon in his hand.
“Yeah, unfortunately, Shakur hurt his hand last night in camp and went to get it scanned,” Hearn said. “He tore a tendon and had to have immediate surgery. I just spoke to him; he just finished surgery and is looking to be ready for early 2025. It’s very disappointing, you know, for Shakur and Joe, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He had to get that operation done.”
Here is a look at Hearn’s interview with IFL.
Stevenson will have options in early 2025. It would behoove Cordina, who is coming off a TKO loss in his last fight, to wait for Stevenson to get healthy. Cordina is unlikely to find a payday anywhere close to what he was set to receive against Stevenson.
If the fight can be made in January or February, it will have a chance to be a part of a massive show–perhaps on the undercard of the winner of Daniel Dubois-Anthony Joshua vs. the winner of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk.
Here is what’s left of the October 12 card, which still has its main event, with the undisputed light heavyweight championship on the line between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol
- Weight Class: Light Heavyweight (175 lbs)
- Championship: Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship
Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta
- Weight Class: Middleweight (160 lbs)
Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke
- Weight Class: Heavyweight (200+ lbs)
- Championship: BBBofC British Heavyweight Title
Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey
- Weight Class: Cruiserweight (200 lbs)
Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron
- Weight Class: Light Heavyweight (175 lbs)
Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman
- Weight Class: Featherweight (126 lbs)
Mohammed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez
- Weight Class: Welterweight (147 lbs)
Beterbiev-Bivol is a great fight, but without Stevenson, the card lacks an American star to make it more attractive globally. We will see if Turki Alalshikh and others move to add another fight to replace Stevenson-Cordina.
