Shakur Stevenson Gets Surgery on Hand Injury; Title Fight vs. Joe Cordina Canceled

There will be no boxing matchup between Shakur Stevenson and Joe Cordina on Oct. 12.

Matchroom Boxing announced Wednesday that Stevenson is "unable to compete" because he suffered a hand injury. That means the fight that was set to take place in Saudi Arabia will not happen as scheduled, as Stevenson underwent "immediate surgery."

According to the announcement, he is expected to return in 2025.

This was set to be an important fight for Stevenson, who was going to defend his lightweight world title in his first fight with Matchroom Boxing.

David Greisman of Boxing Scene noted Stevenson made his pro debut with Top Rank and was with the organization until after his July unanimous decision victory over Artem Harutyunyan. He turned down their offer to remain with the company and instead signed with Matchroom Boxing.

Stevenson won the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics and is 22-0 with 10 knockouts, but he was likely going to be in for a challenge against Cordina considering the latter is a former junior lightweight titleholder.

The fight was going to be part of the undercard for the undisputed light heavyweight championship bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Cordina's immediate future is now somewhat unclear, although Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said, "We're gonna make him a big fight," per Greismant. "We'll speak to Spencer Brown, who's working with Joe as well, and see if we can make a big fight."

That big fight just won't be the one many expected.