Boxing Is Back: Shakur Stevenson, Jamel Herring To Return To The Ring In June, July

Now that the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has given its blessing for boxing promoter Top Rank to begin holding empty-arena fights in Las Vegas, Shakur Stevenson and Jamel Herring have reportedly received new fight dates and new opponents.

Although Top Rank hasn’t officially announced their bouts, featherweight world titlist Shakur Stevenson is reportedly scheduled to face Felix Carabello on June 9 in a non-title bout that will be televised by ESPN. Herring, meanwhile, will reportedly be the first world titlist to defend his belt since the COVID-19 virus hit when he meets Jonathan Oquendo on July 2 on ESPN.

In other upcoming bouts that reportedly will be shown on ESPN in June, former junior featherweight titlist Jessie Magadaleno, Mikeala Mayer, and former junior lightweight titlist Jose Pedraza will be in action. In all of these bouts, the A-side will be a big favorite. But as Herring told me last week, he expects there will be plenty of upsets in the first several months of post-pandemic boxing.

“It’s every fighter’s responsibility, especially if they’re a top contender or a world champion, to maintain discipline [during self-quarantine],” said Herring, who was looking at a potential mega-fight vs. Carl Frampton before the pandemic. “You always see upsets in boxing anyway, but now we may see even more.”

Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs), who was supposed to fight Miguel Marriaga just before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the sport in March, now will face the relatively unknown Carabello (13-1-2, 9 KOs). Herring, meanwhile, seemingly has a tougher opponent in Oquendo (31-6, 19 KOs). Though Oquendo is 36 years old, he fought for a featherweight title in 2015, losing to Jesus Cuellar. His most impressive victory came against Jhonny Gonzalez in 2015, and Oquendo has also faced (and lost to) Abner Mares, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., and Lamont Roach.

So far, the NSAC has only approved the dates of June 9 and June 11 for Top Rank to conduct events.

“I’ve been working with the executives from Top Rank,” Bob Bennett, the NSAC’s executive director, said, via Boxing Scene. “I’ve reviewed their operations plan. They’re still in the process of completing it. It’s very comprehensive. We’re moving in the right direction. I’m pleased to see that we are all working in concert with a closed-system event, and I expect it to be very successful.”

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