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Boxing

Stephan Shaw hopes to fight British boxer and become next American heavyweight champion

Stephan Shaw hopes to fight British boxer and become next American heavyweight championDAZN

Stephan Shaw hopes to become heavyweight champion and believes he could beat Dillian Whyte.

Whyte’s last fight was a title shot against Tyson Fury last April, but he failed to secure the win at Wembley Stadium.

He had been out of the limelight until he beat Jermaine Franklin in November, but remains highly ranked and could still be considered a fighter that contenders must beat on their way to their own title challenge.

30-year-old American Shaw will face Efe Ajagba on Saturday night in New York, with the winner looking to rise in the rankings in anticipation of the four belts breaking up once Oleksandr Usyk and Fury meet in their anticipated 2023 match-up to settle the undisputed champion in the division.

"I feel like this is a great opportunity for me," Shaw said to Sky Sports.

"This will bring more eyes and let the world know that Stephan Shaw is a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.

"I just want to show that I belong with some of the best in the world. Not just heavyweight, just some of the best fighters in the world.

"I want to show that I can beat a guy of this calibre and I'm very confident that I can do it."

"I would love to fight in Britain," Shaw said.

"I was supposed to fight Jermaine Franklin in 2021 and that was going to be my first main event fight, and I remember leading up to that fight, Eddie Hearn had mentioned that the winner of our fight could have been a possible opponent for Dillian Whyte.

"But Jermaine Franklin pulled out on four days' notice with Covid. Then fast-forward he ended up getting a Dillian Whyte fight.

"I would have loved to get that opportunity. Franklin didn't fight anybody of any calibre, nowhere near Efe Ajagba, to get to that plateau."

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