Former two-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson makes a successful debut in the lightweight division. On the night of April 9, the American defeated the Japanese Shuichiro Yoshino. The Japanese boxer tried to act as the first number, but the American effectively defended and counterattacked. Stevenson knocked down his opponent in the second and fourth rounds.. Yoshino found the strength to rise from the canvas and continue the fight, but missed more and more punches from Shakur. In the sixth round, the referee decided to stop the fight, fixing the victory of the American by technical knockout. Stevenson - Yoshino: fight review.

After the fight, Stevenson challenged the undisputed world lightweight champion Devin Haney, who on the night of May 21 will defend the belts in a duel against the owner of the Ukrainian passport Vasyl Lomachenko. Previously, Shakur has already stated that he has no doubts about the easy victory of his compatriot over Lomachenko. " I've been waiting for this for a long time. I swear to God. Me and Devin have been in the ring with each other for years. I always got the best from Devin. I think it will be an easy job. I'm sure I'll shock everyone when I do a really easy fight. Everyone will be shocked and will say: “And you really are who you say you are,” Stevenson quotes The Ring. Stevenson after defeating Yoshino became the official challenger for the WBC lightweight title held by Haney. On account of the 25-year-old Shakur 20 wins (10 by knockout) in 20 fights in the professional ring. Yoshino has 16 wins (12 by KO) and one loss.