The Rumor Mill – Shakur in a superfight with unexpected opponent?
WBO and Ring Magazine super lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson has been a topic of conversation over the past few months, as he made the move to sign with Zuffa Boxing a couple months ago. Since that decision was made a number of possible matchups have been suggested for the Newark native. The biggest one that was brought up is a bout between Stevenson and current WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney. Currently both sides have been far apart in negotiations and it looks like Haney may be going after Ryan Garcia in a unification bout. There were talks for Stevenson to face WBA super lightweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell, but as of two weeks ago there was no progress in that fight coming to fruition.
Another fight that fight fans have asked about for years is Stevenson against Gervonta “Tank” Davis. Those two have recently went back and forth on social media but they are as far apart in making a fight as they were a couple years ago. That leaves Shakur to still search for an opponent in his first fight under Zuffa Boxing. While many thought that he would face Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, that rumor was just that as any possibility of that fight happening was denied by Valenzuela on social media. So who could be out there for Shakur to fight?
An unlikely candidate has been rumored as an opponent for Shakur Stevenson, as this fighter has not been active since last year. However, the fighter is so popular that if the fight is agreed it would send shockwaves to the boxing world…and that fighter’s name is Manny Pacquaio.
Pacquiao has not been in the ring since his fight against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas last year with ended in a draw, and there were rumors that he could have been in a rematch with Floyd Mayweather but that was squashed a few months ago. Now the 47 year old who was close to winning the WBC welterweight title last year could be involved in a bout against a top five pound for pound fighter in Stevenson. This matchup seems unlikely, but it could be one that could spark the interest of those who would be involved – Zuffa Boxing, TKO, and Netflix.
With reports of how much money Shakur signed for under Zuffa Boxing, a bout with Manny Pacquiao could spark enough interest from fight fans to see what the result would be. While this is just a rumor, if it does come to fruition it may be the superfight that the boxing world may not have expected but will surprise them if it happens.
NOTE – The Rumor Mill is part of The Boxing Source website where rumors about potential fights or updates on confirmed fights will be posted. There may be details on these fights or it may just be early news about fights that could be made.
