BoxRec

The WBO have now officially ordered The Ring champion Shakur Stevenson to defend his WBO junior welterweight title against Raymond Muratalla next.

I genuinely don't understand why you repost all this meaningless sh*t.

Tell us when a fight is SIGNED

That's the only thing that f*cking matters. Rumors. Mandatories. Negotiations. Any of that bullsh*t. It's just...who f*cking cares?

gilgamesh wrote: ↑27 Oct 2026, 12:59 I genuinely don't understand why you repost all this meaningless sh*t.

Tell us when a fight is SIGNED

That's the only thing that f*cking matters. Rumors. Mandatories. Negotiations. Any of that bullsh*t. It's just...who f*cking cares?

It’s a forum. You can discuss the fight, or not.

I get that man, but that's kinda my point. This isn't a fight. Nothing's ever a fight. It's always just talk. WBA orders this. IBF orders that. WBO orders this. WBC orders that.

Nobody ever f*cking fights.

Stevenson vs Muratalla would be a great fight. I'd pick Stevenson to win. Will they actually fight? I f*cking doubt it.

Great fight if it happens. Would rather Shakur Vs Haney but this will do. Shakur still wins.

WBO orders Stevenson to defend title vs. Muratalla

Shakur Stevenson looks to have his first 140-pound title defense lined up.

The WBO officially ordered its junior welterweight champion to defend against former IBF lightweight titleholder Raymond Muratalla on Tuesday.

The sides have just 20 days to come to an agreement. If negotiations hit an impasse, purse bids will be called.

Stevenson, who also holds The Ring 140-pound championship, hasn't fought since his January 31 victory over Teofimo Lopez in the main event of "Ring 6."

He later signed with Zuffa Boxing in July, but after three months without a fight date Stevenson was issued his release from the upstart promotional company. While under contract with Zuffa, Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) and Devin Haney were in talks to fight but those broke down over issues surrounding the weight and rehydration clause. Negotiations for a clash with WBA junior welterweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell also failed to progress.

Muratalla (25-0, 17 KOs) recently dropped his IBF 135-pound belt to move up in weight after successfully defending it against Robson Conceicao on August 1. He defeated Andy Cruz on January 24 to win the title.

Once Muratalla moved up, the WBO inserted him as the No. 1 contender for Stevenson, who is The Ring's No. 3 pound-for-pound.

Shakur Stevenson ordered to face Raymond Muratalla as promoters circle

The matter of who will pay Shakur Stevenson to get back into the ring moved toward a possible resolution Tuesday when the WBO ordered him to face unbeaten former lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla.

In a letter to Muratalla promoter Bob Arum and Stevenson co-managers James Prince and Josh Dubin, WBO championship committee chairman Luis Batista Salas ordered the sides to begin negotiations, setting a November 16 deadline to “reach mutually acceptable terms.”

If no agreement is reached, the bout will go to a purse bid, allowing all promoters to submit offers to stage the fight.

Arum's Top Rank was Stevenson's first promoter, guiding the 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist to the first three of his four divisional titles.

Stevenson, 25-0 (11 KOs), however, has not fought since his one-sided unanimous-decision victory over three-division champion Teofimo Lopez on January 31.

Over the summer, the new Zuffa Boxing promotion, headed by UFC CEO and President Dana White and WWE head Nick Khan, signed Stevenson. However, the sides failed to secure a fight following negotiations involving Manny Pacquiao and Devin Haney, and Stevenson was subsequently granted his release.

Boxing Scene was told Tuesday by an official close to the negotiations that there has been a “feeding frenzy” among potential new Stevenson suitors, including DAZN and Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, who are “trying to secure a deal.”

Upon parting with Zuffa, Stevenson said he looked forward to making big fights against the best possible opponents at 135 and 140lbs. An official close to him said the Newark, New Jersey, champion is “of course” interested in facing Muratalla.

Ironically, Zuffa would have the opportunity to promote Stevenson-Muratalla should it participate in, and win, the purse bid.

However, Zuffa has yet to participate in a purse bid, and one official said not to expect the company to return to business with Stevenson.

“It'll be interesting to see what his market value is,” the individual said.

Muratalla, of Fontana, California, won the IBF lightweight title in January with a majority-decision victory over Cuba's Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz.

Muratalla, 25-0 (17 KOs), then successfully defended his belt against another Olympic gold medalist, former world champion Robson Conceicao of Brazil, in August.

Trained by two-time reigning Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, Muratalla subsequently expressed his intention to leave the lightweight division and was promptly installed at No. 1 in the WBO's 140lbs rankings.