Shakur Stevenson Suffers Hand Injury, Cordina Fight Off

In a major blow to the upcoming Riyadh Season event, Matchroom Boxing has announced the cancellation of the WBC Featherweight Championship bout between Shakur Stevenson and Joe Cordina. The announcement came after Stevenson suffered a hand injury that required immediate surgery, specifically a torn tendon in his knuckle. Stevenson had previously complained of a hand injury in his last bout, a unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan in July. Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed the nature of the injury, which has sidelined the WBC Lightweight Champion for the remainder of the year.

In an official statement released on social media, Matchroom Boxing said, “Due to a hand injury sustained by Shakur Stevenson, he is unable to compete against Joe Cordina on the Bivol-Beterbiev undercard at the upcoming Riyadh Season event on October 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The WBC World Lightweight Champion has undergone immediate surgery. After a successful period of recovery, Stevenson is set to return to the ring in early 2025.”

The Stevenson-Cordina bout was slated to be the headlining fight on DAZN Pay-Per-View and the co-feature to the highly anticipated undisputed light heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. That bout is still scheduled to take place and will air as a one-fight telecast on ESPN+ in a unique, convoluted split telecast format. However, the loss of Stevenson-Cordina from the card is a significant blow to the event’s overall appeal.

For Stevenson, the fight was meant to be a major milestone, marking his first under the Matchroom Boxing banner after signing a multi-fight deal with the promotion in August. Stevenson had spent the first eight years of his career with Top Rank Promotions before making the jump to Matchroom, a move that generated significant excitement in the boxing community.

In a statement following the injury, Stevenson expressed his disappointment, stating, “Ups and downs gone happen, it’s life. This shit come with it, but I promise 2025 is my year, and it’s gone be my biggest year yet. THAT’S MY WORD. This gift God gave me is unbelievable.”

Despite Stevenson’s optimism about his future, the announcement of the Cordina bout had initially sparked controversy among boxing fans, many of whom were hoping to see Stevenson take on Gervonta “Tank” Davis in a unification bout. However, negotiations for that fight never gained traction after Stevenson’s manager, Josh Dubin, announced that the fight would not take place following a self-imposed seven-day deadline by Stevenson’s team to reach an agreement. Fans were left frustrated as the prospect of a Stevenson-Davis clash faded.

Complicating matters further, Boxing Scene’s Lance Pugmire reported that Stevenson had reached a verbal agreement to face mandatory challenger William Zepeda as part of the October 12 card. However, that bout also failed to materialize for reasons unknown, with a scheduled August 20 WBC mandatory purse bid coming and going without any finalization.

As for Joe Cordina, it remains unclear whether he will stay on the October 12 card and face a new opponent or if his involvement in the event will be scrapped altogether. Sources close to the situation indicated to Brunch Boxing that the Stevenson-Cordina bout will not be rescheduled.

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