Luck isn’t on Shakur Stevenson‘s side. The WBC lightweight champion had to pull out of his fight with Joe Cordina due to a right-hand injury. The fight was supposed to be the co-main event for the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev undisputed clash on October 12 in his debut under Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing. After signing the two-fight contract with Matchroom, Stevenson was desperate to prove that he was an exciting and bankable fighter after his previous lackluster performances. But it wasn’t meant to be as an injury incurred in a sparring session ruled him out for the rest of the year.

“Unfortunately, my hand gave out on me but in 2025 let’s bounce back and take over boxing,” Shakur Stevenson wrote on X. The injury was so severe that Stevenson had to have surgery. Now, Shakur has given yet another update to his fans around the world. He hinted that he might be returning to the squared circle in February.

Judging by the tonality of the post, it might be a fight against a big name as he doesn’t need any “tune-up” fights. “Yeah gotta realize I know what I’m capable of, I don’t need tune ups I been doing this my whole life I’m forever in the gym, February gone be a movie,” he wrote on X, putting forward a potential return date in February.

It’s a shame that Shakur Stevenson wasn’t able to fight this year as he was working hard in the gym to improve his offensive strategy with long-time friend and occasional sparring partner Terence Crawford. Although Shakur has an impeccable defense, his gun-shy performances are proving to be a crucial factor in his lack of PPV appeal. Case and point— It isn’t great for the optics when Stevenson is booed by his home crowd at Newark during his last performance against Harutyunyan. It’s even worse when people start leaving the stadium during the championship rounds.

His recent boring performances are the only reason why elite boxers in the lightweight division are staying away from Shakur Stevenson. Recently, Golden Boy Promotions head Oscar De La Hoya stated why he is hesitant to set up a fight for one of the brightest prospects in his charge with Stevenson.

Great boxer, but can he sell tickets?

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman ordered in June for Shakur Stevenson to defend his WBC lightweight championship against mandatory challenger William Zepeda, and ‘The Outlaw’ desperately wanted the fight to happen. However, Oscar De La Hoya is still having his reservations about the fight.

“Eddie Hearn is not in the way of making that fight. I think the only one that’s in the way of making that fight is me,” he said in an interview with FightHub TV. Although De La Hoya praised Shakur’s boxing skills, he was still doubtful about his ability to sell tickets.

“I think Shakur, right now, skill-wise is probably the best fighter on the planet today. Tremendous, tremendous skills but he has to be able to sell tickets. His boxing style is not that friendly to sell tickets but I think that William Zepeda vs. Shakur Stevenson is a huge fight,” De La Hoya said. However, De La Hoya remained hopeful that the fight was going to take place in the near future. “I’ll tell you one thing — I will make that fight,” the Olympic gold medalist said confidently.

It seems like Oscar De La Hoya is looking for a couple of exciting performances from Shakur Stevenson to finalize the fight with Zepeda. Furthermore, it also remains to be seen who Stevenson’s opponent will be for his February return date.

Nevertheless, are you excited to see Shakur Steveson back in the ring again next year? Let us know in the comment section below