Rejection stings, but Shakur Stevenson has refused to let it knock him off course. Since last year, one thing has consumed his focus—a showdown with Gervonta Davis. The jabs from Davis have been sharp and frequent, even mocking Stevenson’s performance against Josh Padley on The Last Crescendo undercard in Riyadh last week. He took to X with a simple “Lol” before the fight had even concluded. Sure, Shakur Stevenson emerged victorious, but where does it all lead if not to Gervonta Davis?

The Newark native has made his intentions crystal clear, but what happens if the fight with the 30-0 never materializes? Will he move on to 140 lbs, or will he continue to knock on that door? The good news is, Stevenson hasn’t run out of options. Recently, he’s set his sights on a new name—one that has the potential to revive his momentum and bolster his reputation. Who is this new challenger? How formidable is he? Let’s dive in and find out.

Gervonta Davis, make way! A new challenger has arrived for Shakur

Recently, at the final press conference in New York, Jose Valenzuela was caught in a conversation with Sean Zittel. The WBA Super Lightweight champion is set to defend his title for the first time against Gary Antuanne Russell on the undercard of Gervonta Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr. tomorrow. In a bold move, ‘El Rayo’ Valenzuela didn’t just call out one opponent—he called out two: Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson. This interview posted by a user on X quickly grabbed the attention of the 23-0 boxer himself. He reshared the post quickly with a caption: “4 division champ? Sign me up!!” So, what was in the video?

The 14-2 boxer started by acknowledging that Shakur is a tough opponent, noting that no one seems eager to fight him at 135 lbs. Despite that, Rayo admitted, “He [Shakur] is the fighter I have always wanted to fight.”

When asked why he had always wanted to fight Shakur Stevenson, Rayo explained, “They say that he is hard to hit.” This challenge motivates Jose Valenzuela, who describes himself as very competitive. He then added, “When I was younger too, I knew who he really was.” However, due to financial struggles, Rayo didn’t have the opportunity to compete at the same level or in the same tournaments as Shakur, which prevented them from crossing paths in the ring earlier. On top of it, he added, “Now we’re both here… So I would like to get in there with him,” believing that both he and Shakur are great fighters.

It seems the prospect of becoming a world champion at super lightweight may be the only way forward for Shakur Stevenson to claim his spot since Gervonta Davis doesn’t seem too bothered by the callouts. The move may also help him make his way into the pound-for-pound rankings, where Tank has recently found a cozy spot.

Shakur Stevenson reacts to pound-for-pound snub

Despite his impressive debut at the Riyadh Season event, Shakur Stevenson found himself left out in the cold when it came to boxing’s elite rankings. Only yesterday, The Ring magazine posted a question: “Who do you think deserves to be higher or lower?”

It featured the current top ten pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Beginning with 2024’s ‘Fighter of the Year’ Award recipient, Oleksandr Usyk, the list had Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford, and the newly crowned light heavyweight undisputed champion Dmitry Bivol in the top four positions, respectively. Artur Beterbiev held fifth place. Gervonta Davis came eighth after Jesse Rodriguez and Canelo Alvarez. What’s more, even Devin Haney found a place. He stood tenth, right after WBC bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani.

And what about Shakur Stevenson? Unfortunately, he didn’t make the cut. That must’ve stung, right? He reshared the post with a caption: “👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾.” His frustration was shared by many fans who believed his name should have been included. However, critics weren’t shy either, pointing out Stevenson’s performance against Josh Padley. Padley, who stepped in at the last minute and had no proper training camp, was seen as an opponent Stevenson should have dispatched much quicker than the 9th-round stoppage.

With that said, could a fight between Shakur Stevenson and Jose Valenzuela be the next big showdown? Who do you think would come out on top? And who else would you like to see Stevenson face in the ring? Do share your thoughts with us below.