Just days after it was announced that top prospect Shakur Stevenson would be fighting Duarn Vue on an ESPN-televised bout on October 13, plans were changed.
Vue had to withdraw from the fight the same week he was supposed to fight Stevenson on the co-main event bout of the October 13 Top Rank on ESPN due to a detached retina. Stevenson will still get to fight on October 13, but now it will be against twice-beaten Viorel Simion.
Simion is a 36-year-old Romanian featherweight sporting a 21-2 record pro with nine knockout victories and competed in the 2004 Olympics. A former IBF Intercontinental and WBC International featherweight titleholder, Simion has fought the likes of Scott Quigg and Lee Selby, but it has been well over a year since Simion has been in the ring. Simion has not fought since April 2017 when he lost to Quigg by unanimous decision on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's victory over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium.
Stevenson and Simion will be competing for the vacant WBC Continental Americas featherweight title in a 10-round fight, Stevenson's first fight scheduled for 10 rounds. Stevenson, a former Olympic silver medalist from 2016, will be looking to improve his record to 9-0 since making his pro debut last year.
The fight between the two boxers will be the co-feature bout to the WBO welterweight title fight between Terence Crawford and unbeaten contender Jose Benavidez Jr. from Crawford's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
