Shakur Stevenson has rejected the proposed terms for one particular fight, potentially distancing himself from several of his most lucrative options.
The 28-year-old is coming off arguably a career-best performance against Teofimo Lopez, claiming his WBO super-lightweight title with a dominant points victory in January.
In doing so, Stevenson not only became a four-division world champion but also cemented himself as a top five pound-for-pound operator, alongside the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue.
Because of this, though, many have questioned whether the slick southpaw will ever be beaten, suggesting that a move up to 147lbs could be his only hope at finding a worthy challenge. Stevenson has said recently that he would do it so long as any opponent would sign a 10lbs rehydration clause.
If he decides to do just that, then most would regard WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney as his toughest test, though Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn have also been mentioned as possible options.
Immediately after his victory over Lopez, Stevenson came face to face with Benn, while Garcia called out the American following his WBC title triumph over Mario Barrios earlier this month.
For both potential fights, Stevenson has demanded a 144lb catchweight limit, to which Garcia verbally agreed ahead of his showdown with Barrios.
Since then, though, the 27-year-old’s father and trainer, Henry Garcia, has insisted that Stevenson must come up to 147lbs, but the super-lightweight champion has told ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT that this is strictly out of the question.
“I think [Garcia is] serious. I think he [does] want the fight. I just think that everything gotta work well in the business, everything gotta make sense.
“Before the [Barrios] fight, I heard them saying they’ll fight me at 144[lbs]. Then, after the fight, I’m hearing 147[lbs].
“I’m not going up to 147 no time soon. I think that will be my last weight class that I’m in. I don’t think that, at 28 years old right now, I’m just going [to go] up to 147.”
Benn has not commented on a possible 144lb catchweight but, given that he is facing Regis Prograis at 150lbs on April 11, it would seem that, for him, such a request is hardly worth considering.
If Stevenson is dead set against a full move to welterweight, it will also likely rule out a fight with Devin Haney, who has said he felt ‘a shell of himself’ at weights lower.