Benn Calls Out Shakur: “Do It Next!” – Potential Mega-Bout Across Weight Classes

Conor Benn called out lightweight belt holder Shakur Stevenson today on social media, asking him if he wants to “Do it next.” The former three-division world champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) had recently expressed interest in fighting him at 154.

Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) now challenges Shakur to back up his words and agree to meet him. He doesn’t say whether he would want the Newark, New Jersey native Stevenson to come up to 154 for the fight or meet him at 147. After rehydrating for his fights at lightweight, he looks like a welterweight inside the ring. So, he should be able to battle Conor at 147 quite easily.

“You want to do it next, Shakur Stevenson? Let’s run it. No cheap talk,” said Conor Benn on social media, calling out WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson for a fight.

“Tank” Davis Next? Or Benn Instead?

The unbeaten Shakur has a fight scheduled for July 12th against William Zepeda in New York. This is a fight that Stevenson hopes will be the gateway to get him a lucrative unification clash against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. It might not be.

If Shakur can’t get the Tank fight, he has few options for big paydays at 135. To keep getting good money, he will be expected to fight someone fans want to see him fight. In that case, Conor Benn might be Shakur’s best option. He can drag Benn back down to 147 or push for a catchweight of 143 or 144 to give himself a slight handicap like the one Conor received for losing to middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. on April 26th.

If Shakur doesn’t take that fight with Benn, he could be stuck defending his WBC lightweight title against one of these risky contenders:

– Andy Cruz – Ranked #1 with the WBC
– Abdullah Mason
– Raymond Muratalla
– Jadier Herrera
– Floyd Schofield

Those are all tough outs for Shakur because they have power and or skills. His stock would drop badly if he fights scared against those guys. Stevenson can’t afford that, and he cannot take on another Josh Padley-type opponent without it wrecking his career. That was a dumb move by Shakur to agree to the idea of fighting the electrician Padley in his last fight on February 22nd. He and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, didn’t consider the backlash from fighting a low-level part-time fighter like Padley.