Shakur Stevenson, who briefly retired, will be returning to the ring on July 6. In January, he announced on Twitter that he was retiring from the sport, but now he is set to fight at the Prudential Centre in Newark for the fourth time. The news was first reported by writer Dan Rafael.
The Newark-born WBC lightweight belt holder won his third strap by defeating Edwin De Los Santos in a lackluster fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas four months ago. Stevenson faced criticism for his performance, which lacked excitement and action in terms of punches thrown.
In his 21 fights, 10 have not gone the distance, with Stevenson winning decisively on the scorecards in the other 11. Opponents like Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez were unable to mount a challenge and were defeated convincingly over 12 rounds.
The 135lbs division will have a new belt holder on May 12 with the IBF title being contested by George Kambosos and Vasyl Lomachenko in Australia. Gervonta Davis holds the WBA strap at lightweight, and a fight for the vacant WBO belt is anticipated between Emanuel Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk.
There are rumors that Stevenson may face his Top Rank stablemate Raymond Muratalla on July 6. Muratalla, with a record of 19-0 (16), is scheduled to fight on March 29 on the Oscar Valdez-Liam Wilson undercard against Agustin Ezequiel Quintana. Trainer Robert Garcia has denied rumors of an official fight between Muratalla and Stevenson on Twitter.