Shakur Stevenson is no longer a free agent, as Matchroom Boxing announced today that it has signed the WBC lightweight champion ahead of his title defense against Joe Cordina on October 12.

“I am ready to begin the next chapter of my career, which begins on October 12 with Joe Cordina on the season card in Riyad, Saudi Arabia,” Stevenson said.

“I made it clear that I wanted the biggest names and the biggest fights in the sport. Put William Zepeda on top in 2025 and I’ll be ready for anyone brave enough to step into the ring with me. In recent years, there have been few people willing to take up this challenge.

With Matchroom and Riyadh Season, I am joining forces 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 demonstrate my dominance in boxing for many years to come.”

The press release did not specify how long their cooperation will last. Juliusz Julianis previously reported that Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO) was only going to stay with them for one fight, but it appears he will be working with Matchroom for the Zepeda fight as well. Considering how close Matchroom is to Golden Boy, this seems like the easiest way.

Earlier this year, the WBC announced that Zepeda would be a mandatory fighter, but according to Mike Coppinger, Zepeda wanted to delay it in preparation for the birth of his child.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is yet to give up on his dream of creating a version of Eubank vs Benn for this generation, despite facing several hurdles in previous attempts. Chris Eubank Jr has openly stated that he is still interested in fighting Conor Benn, and Eddie Hearn is behind it and expects that they may be able to arrange it in the first quarter of 2025.

Hearn in Eubank Jr included Benn on his hit list

“Chris Eubank Jr means one thing, it starts with an ‘m’, ends with a ‘y’ and has a ‘one’ in the middle. It’s written “money”, that’s all he cares about. He doesn’t care about the legacy, he doesn’t care about the championship, he wants the money. And the monks are supposed to fight Conor Benn.

“So, Chris Eubank Jr, you can talk about this fight, talk about that fight, but if you want the money, let’s play. And we will play in the first quarter of 2025.”

About Benn’s current situation

“Just as. We are waiting for the decision, he is settling matters with his lawyers. “Hopefully he will be ready to fight at the end of this year, but no doubt in early 2025, and he is ready to go straight into a money fight with Chris Eubank.”

On Eubank we also ask about Billy Joe Saunders and ask if we will ever see him back in the ring

“I hope so. Billy Joe is an amazing fighter, but each day that passes makes this less likely… that’s a long time out of the ring, but Billy’s biggest problem is that it’s a double-edged sword – he’ll want to say “well, give me a date and give me a plan” , and we’ll want to say, or someone else will say, “well, you have to show us that you’re eight or nine weeks miniature,” because I don’t want to book a venue, book everything and you’ll come to training.

“Like he probably couldn’t concentrate without a date, without an opponent, like a lot of fighters. So I’d love to see Billy go away and spend seven or eight weeks before camp at his actual camp and come back and say, “Listen, I’m here, let’s go.”

Results:

It’s another Wednesday night ProBox and we have live coverage from Bad Left Hook! Tonight, Jarrett Hurd and Jeison Rosario meet in the ProBox TV main event, which will be a 10-round middleweight bout.

The show starts at 8pm EST, so join us for the full live coverage in the comments section below!

Hurd (25-3, 17 KO) was the unified 154-pound champion, winning back-to-back fights over Tony Harrison, Austin Trout and Erislandy Lara, earning him a reputation as an action fighter with deadly power. A surprising loss to Julian “J-Rock” Williams in 2019 showed that earlier battles had taken their toll, with the theory supported by subsequent decision defeats to Luis Arias and stoppage to Armando Resendiz.

Rosario (24-4-1, 18 KO) was also the junior middleweight champion, defeating J-Rock Williams via 5th round TKO in Williams’ first defense of the Hurd belts. Rosario then lost his first title defense to Jermell Charlo by KO-8, lost again the next time by KO-6 to Erickson Lubin, and lost his only significant fight since against Brian Mendoza in 2022, also by knockout.

Without disregarding their significant achievements from 4-5 years ago, both men have clearly seen their best moments in recent performances. But either one or two wins could separate him from another significant shot at the wide-open middleweight division, and both fighters have enough value to lend a hand revive the reputation of tonight’s winner.

You can join us in the comments below for live coverage and commentary, and watch the live stream for FREE! with this video:

Main card (ProBox TV, 8 p.m. ET)

• Jarrett Hurd (25-3, 17 KO) vs. Jeison Rosario (24-4-1, 18 KO), middleweight, 10 rounds
• Michael Angeletti (11-0, 7 KO) vs. Geraldo Valdez (16-1, 11 KO), bantamweight, 10 rounds
• Iwan Dyczko (13-0, 12 KO) vs. Craig Lewis (15-7-1, 8 KO), heavyweight, 8 rounds
• Dominic Valle (9-0, 7 KO) vs. Kevin Piedrahita (9-2, 8 KO), super featherweight, 8 rounds