A busy stretch of midweek business across the sport, with a mandatory order that could finally settle where Shakur Stevenson fights next, a December date for Devin Haney, a 38-year-old legend coming out of retirement, and Tyson Fury talking about fighting into his 40s.
Stevenson gets a WBO order and a market test. The WBO on Tuesday ordered Stevenson to begin negotiations with unbeaten former IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla, according to BoxingScene. The letter from championship committee chairman Luis Batista Salas went to Muratalla promoter Bob Arum and Stevenson co-managers James Prince and Josh Dubin, setting a November 16 deadline before the fight goes to a purse bid. Stevenson, 25-0 (11 KOs), has not fought since beating Teofimo Lopez on January 31 and is a free agent after his release from Zuffa Boxing. An official close to the talks told BoxingScene there is a “feeding frenzy” among suitors, with DAZN and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions among them. A purse bid would technically let any promoter, Zuffa included, bid for the fight. Muratalla, 25-0 (17 KOs), is trained by Robert Garcia and is ranked No. 1 by the WBO at 140 after vacating his lightweight belt.
Haney moves on from Stevenson, lands Paro. With the Stevenson talks dead, Haney will defend his WBO welterweight title against IBF champion Liam Paro on December 19 at Chase Center in San Francisco, per The Ring. It is Haney’s first fight under his new multi-fight DAZN deal and his first defense since beating Brian Norman Jr. last November. Devin Haney Promotions and Top Rank will co-promote. Paro, 28-1 (16 KOs), won the IBF belt by decision over Lewis Crocker in June and is no stranger to winning on the road, having taken the IBF 140 title from Subriel Matias in Puerto Rico in 2024. Ryan Garcia holds the WBC belt and Lopez the WBA title at 147, and those two are working toward their own unification early next year.
Lomachenko wants one more shot at undisputed. Vasiliy Lomachenko, who retired in June 2025 at 37, said on the DAZN broadcast of O’Shaquie Foster’s win over Emanuel Navarrete that he plans to return in 2027 at junior lightweight, according to BoxingScene. He said he decided that at 38 he had to try one more time to become undisputed, because waiting until 40 would be too late. Lomachenko called 130 his natural weight, where he first won the WBO title in 2016, and said he will test his condition next year before committing to a date. Asked if he wants Foster, who now holds the WBC, WBO and IBF belts at 130, Lomachenko answered “Absolutely.” Foster, for his part, has said he wants the fourth belt before anything else, with Stevenson after that.
DiBella says Hearn and Warren opened the door. Hall of Fame promoter Lou DiBella, in an interview with Tris Dixon reported by No Smoke Boxing, said the promoters now complaining about the sport’s new power structure built it themselves by bringing outside money into their biggest events. DiBella asked “who’s most responsible for letting the wolf into the hen house of boxing promotion” and answered that it was Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren. His point was that by staging mega-events with outside backing, the old guard created an independent power base that no longer needs them.
Fury is not retiring. Again. Ahead of his December 11 fight with Anthony Joshua at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Netflix, Fury told WSVN Miami he has two fights left on his contract and intends to keep going, per BoxingScene. “I’ll finish the contract off and then probably sign another 10-fight deal,” Fury said, adding that the fights would have to come quickly because he is getting older and he is approaching his 40th bout. Fury, 36-2-1 (25 KOs), has announced his retirement five times. He returned in April to outpoint Arslanbek Makhmudov and stopped Mariusz Wach in July after consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024.
