Frank Martin will challenge Shakur Stevenson for the lightweight championship. The two have reached an agreement to compete for the vacant WBC lightweight belt, according to ESPN. The agreement was reached just hours before the fight’s rights were scheduled to be sold at auction in a purse bid.
Although there is no set date as of yet, it is most likely to occur on either November 16 in Las Vegas or December 9 in New York.
The battle will be shown on ESPN as a main event either the day after the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York or the day after the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas, according to ESPN.
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Shakur Stevenson’s Next Fight Confirmed For WBC 135 lbs
The unbeaten southpaw technicians’ showdown for the vacant WBC lightweight belt may now be anticipated by fans. According to Keith Idec, Shakur Stevenson and Frank Martin have reached an agreement to fight after the WBC ordered them to do so, and they did so minutes before a scheduled purse bid. The fight will either happen on November 16 in Las Vegas or on December 9 in New York, according to Mike Coppinger.
Also in an X post, a tweet was made by Michael Benson who wrote, “ Shakur Stevenson vs Frank Martin for the vacant WBC lightweight world title is reportedly now AGREED as Bob Arum’s Top Rank and TGB Promotions (on behalf of Al Haymon’s PBC) have done a deal to stage it on a Top Rank/ESPN show. Purse bids cancelled. [According to @IdecBoxing]”
Stevenson, a former two-weight champion, only recently made the transition to 135 pounds after stopping Shuichiro Yoshino in the sixth round back in April. Devin Haney, the lightweight champion, was originally scheduled to face him next, but Haney was later moved up to face Regis Prograis, the WBC champion at 140 pounds.
As a result, the WBC declared Haney the lightweight champion in the break, giving him the ability to defend his title should he move back up to 135 pounds. In the interim, Stevenson would compete against the top-ranked opponent for the vacant WBC title.
Credit also goes to both sides for agreeing on a deal – Stevenson being with Top Rank and Martin being with TGB Promotions. Plenty of people did feel a purse bids battle would be needed here, but no.
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