Shakur Stevenson will have to face a new opponent for his homecoming fight in July.
According to Top Rank Vice President of boxing operations Carl Moretti, who spoke with Boxing Scene, said Hairon Socarras, the opponent announced to face Stevenson next month, has pulled out of the fight. The fight was supposed to headline a Top Rank on ESPN card from the Prudential Center in Stevenson's hometown of Newark, New Jersey on July 13.
“I can confirm that [Socarras] has pulled out of the fight,” Moretti said. “I cannot confirm as to exactly why. I’ve heard so much bullsh*t from their team. I just wish they never would have accepted the fight in the first place. We will name a replacement shortly.”
The fight was announced at a press conference in Newark, but Socarras never showed up. No replacement has been announced, but it is expected that Stevenson will still fight on the card. This will be Stevenson's first pro bout in front of his hometown fans since making his debut back in 2017. Also announced for the card is Joshua Greer Jr. facing Nikolai Potapov where the winner becomes the No. 2 contender for the IBF bantamweight title.
Stevenson's last fight saw him beat former world title challenger Christopher Diaz by unanimous decision on the Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan pay-per-view card back on April 20. Stevenson, ranked No. 1 by the WBO and No. 3 by the WBA and IBF at featherweight, is the current IBF Intercontinental and WBO NABO titleholder.
