WBC Lightweight World champion Shakur Stevenson will defend his title against Joe Cordina in Riyadh on October 12
Eddie Hearn and Matchroom have announced the signing of one of boxing’s biggest megastars in Shakur Stevenson.
The WBC World Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) will defend his championship against former IBF Super-Featherweight king Joe Cordina on October 12 in the upcoming Riyadh Season spectacle in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh confirmed today that the 27 year old, three-division World champion will battle Welshman Cordina on the same night Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev contest the Undisputed Light-Heavyweight championship.
A future showdown with mandatory challenger William Zepeda awaits the winner – and Stevenson is confident he will set-up a mega-fight with the undefeated Mexican.
“I am ready to start this next chapter of my career and it begins on October 12 with Joe Cordina on the stacked Riyadh Season card in Saudi Arabia,” said Stevenson.
“I’ve made it clear that I want the biggest names and the biggest fights in the sport. Bring on William Zepeda at the top of 2025 and I’m ready for anyone who is brave enough to step in the ring with me. There have been few willing to take on that challenge in recent years.
With Matchroom and Riyadh Season, I am teaming up with a promotional force that matches my world class talent. We will be unstoppable in and out of the ring, and I will continue to show my dominance for many years to come in the sport of boxing.”
Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn believes Stevenson is a generational talent, who will etch his name in history as one of the sport’s all-time legends.
“I am delighted to welcome what I believe is a pound-for-pound great to the Matchroom team,” said Hearn
“Shakur Stevenson is 27 and already a three-division World champion and might be unbeatable in the sport of boxing.
“This young man should be a global superstar, and I believe with our machine behind him, he will land all the big fights and receive all the credit that he deserves.
“The journey begins on October 12 in Riyadh on a huge card, and we cannot wait for the future together.”
Southpaw Stevenson dismantled Artem Harutyunyan in July in front of his hometown fans in Newark, New Jersey, winning via a classy unanimous points victory.
The American captured the WBC Lightweight crown back in November 2023 when he outpointed Edwin De Los Santos in Las Vegas to land the vacant belt.
Stevenson boasts a flawless resume – having defeated the likes of Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceicao and Jamel Herring – which has seen him collect the WBC and WBO Super Featherweight straps, along with the WBO Featherweight title during an incredible career to date.
Matchroom Boxing will provide details on a launch press conference with Shakur Stevenson in Los Angeles next week in due course.