Featherweight Shakur Stevenson, a 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist and one of the top prospects in boxing, will engage in his first scheduled 10-round fight when he faces Duarn Vue on Oct. 13, Top Rank announced on Monday.
The fight, for a vacant regional title, will serve as the co-feature of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card (ESPN and ESPN Deportes, 10:30 p.m. ET with the preliminary action streaming on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET). The show is headlined by the previously announced welterweight world titlist Terence Crawford defending against Jose Benavidez Jr. at the CHI Health Center in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Stevenson (8-0, 4 KOs), a 21-year-old southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, will be fighting for the fifth time in 2018.
“The world is going to see the real Shakur Stevenson on Oct. 13,” he said. “With my team, Top Rank, and ESPN behind me, I should be world champion in 2019.”
“The Storm” Vue (14-1-2, 4 KOs), 32, of Madison, Wisconsin, has won two fights in a row, including a 12-round unanimous decision in his last bout on April 28 when he defeated former interim junior featherweight world titlist Nehomar Cermeño.
“I am very thankful for this opportunity,” Vue said. “Get ready because ‘The Storm’ is coming!” Among the fights on the ESPN+ portion of the card that were announced are:
• Junior lightweight Mikaela Mayer (7-0, 4 KOs), 28, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Los Angeles, taking on Vanessa Bradford (4-0-2, 0 KOs), 34, of Edmonton, Canada, in an eight-rounder.
• Junior middleweight up-and-comer Carlos Adames (14-0, 11 KOs), 24, of the Dominican Republic, will face Josh Conley (14-2-1, 9 KOs), 26, of San Bernardino, California, in a in a 10-round bout.
• Former junior welterweight world titlist Mike Alvarado (39-4, 27 KOs), 38, of Denver, will seek his sixth win in a row following three losses in a row between 2013 and 2015 to Ruslan Provodnikov, Juan Manuel Marquez and Brandon Rios in their third fight. Alvarado will square off with Robbie Cannon (16-13-3, 7 KOs), 33, of Festus, Missouri, in a scheduled 10-round welterweight fight.
• Light heavyweight Steve Nelson (11-0, 9 KOs), 30, of Omaha, one of Crawford’s stablemates, against Oscar Riojas (17-10-1, 6 KOs), 34, of Mexico, in an eight-rounder.