Those who were skeptical about Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing making strides in the U.S. market are probably starting to change their minds. The famous British promoter has recently scored another major deal in the U.S., securing the signature of WBC lightweight world champion Shakur Stevenson.
The former Olympic silver medalist from Rio had been under contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank for several years, but the relationship between the fighter, already a three-division world champion as a pro, and his promotional company had been quite tumultuous. After becoming a free agent, Stevenson carefully considered the offers that came his way and ultimately found Eddie Hearn’s pitch convincing, with Hearn having publicly praised the Houston-based southpaw while criticizing Top Rank for how they managed him.
According to Hearn’s own words, the deal is only for two fights. Stevenson will face former super featherweight world champion Joe Cordina on October 12 in Riyadh, on the undercard of the highly anticipated light heavyweight unification bout between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Then, as per the intentions of the involved parties, he is expected to face mandatory challenger William Zepeda in February next year. If the American comes out victorious in these two bouts, he and Hearn will return to the negotiating table to discuss a possible contract extension in anticipation of the super fight everyone hopes to see: a showdown against Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
With the signing of Stevenson, Matchroom has secured the services of three of the best American boxers currently active. Along with the lightweight world champion, the roster already includes WBC super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis. For the latter, Eddie Hearn is currently trying to secure a prestigious world title unification bout by sending offers to the reigning champions of the other organizations.
Hearn stated that he sent offers to all three welterweight titleholders: Mario Barrios (WBC), Eimantas Stanionis (WBA), and Brian Norman Jr (WBO). The Matchroom boss added that all his offers were declined, but this claim triggered sharp responses from Norman Jr’s team, who insist they made a counteroffer and are very interested in the fight. We’ll see if negotiations progress and if Boots gets the chance to move closer to becoming undisputed before considering a move up to super welterweight.