At age 22 with 12 fights into his pro career, Shakur Stevenson's patience had been wearing thin for a world title opportunity.
Well, the wait is over. On Friday, Top Rank announced its fall schedule, and it's headlined by Stevenson facing Joet Gonzalez for the vacant WBO featherweight title on Oct. 26 at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev.
Having previously announced the light heavyweight unification bout between IBF champion Artur Beterbiev and WBC titleholder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in Philadelphia on Oct. 18, Stevenson-Gonzalez will be followed by Miguel Berchelt defending his WBC super featherweight world title against Jason Sosa at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., on Nov. 2 and Jamel Herring putting his WBO junior lightweight title on the line for the first time against Lamont Roach Jr. at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, Calif., on Nov. 9.
For Stevenson, vying for the WBO featherweight strap vacated by Oscar Valdez marks a dream about to come true.
"I have been working for this moment my entire life, and no one is going to stop me from becoming a world champion,” Stevenson said in a Top Rank press release statement. “I had some of my biggest amateur moments in Reno, and I can’t wait to win my first world title there. This is my time to show the world that I am the best young fighter in boxing. The Shakur Stevenson era will officially begin on October 26.”
Stevenson (12-0, 7 KOs) dropped Alberto Guevara three times en route to a third-round KO in a Newark, N.J., homecoming this past July during his last time out. He'll be facing an older, more experienced Gonzalez (23-0, 14 KOs), who at 25-years-old is coming off a KO himself — against Manuel Avila in July as well. Gonzalez, too, has been coveting this world title shot for quite some time.
“It’s about time I got my world title shot,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve been asking for this opportunity for a long time. Thanks to my promoter and manager, it is finally here. Shakur Stevenson has done a lot of talking. But I’ll do my talking in the ring with my fists on October 26.”