Former unified super featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson is finalizing the details of his highly-anticipated lightweight debut. The Newark, New Jersey native is expected to fight Shuichiro Yoshino at an undetermined venue on April 8, 2023. The winner of the bout will become the mandatory challenger for the WBC Lightweight Championship currently held by Devin Haney.
Shakur Stevenson enters the bout with a record of 19-0 to go along with nine knockouts. Along the way, he has defeated current and former champions like Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez. The Top Rank fighter last appeared in the ring on September 23, 2022. After failing to make weight for the fight, he beat former Olympian Robson Conceição by unanimous decision in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
Shuichiro Yoshino of Kanuma, Japan also enters the bout with an undefeated record of 16-0 to go along with 12 knockouts. In his last three outings, he has been able to stop Shuma Nakazato, Masayuki Ito and Masayoshi Nakatani within the distance.
The winner of the bout will become the mandatory challenger for the WBC Lightweight Championship currently held by Devin Haney. Haney will fight Vasiliy Lomachenko at an undetermined location on May 20, 2023.
