Shakur Stevenson to face Viorel Simion on October 13

Shakur Stevenson’s October 13 fight date will go on, as the top prospect has a new opponent following Duarn Vue’s withdrawal due to a detached retina.

Veteran Viorel Simion (21-2, 9 KO) has stepped in to face Stevenson (8-0, 4 KO) in Omaha on the ESPN-televised card coming next Saturday.

Simion, who turns 37 later this month, has been inactive since an April 2017 loss to Scott Quigg at Wembley Stadium. The Romanian is a former Olympian whose other pro loss came to Lee Selby in 2013, so he’s faced and lost to good opposition, building his record otherwise on mostly soft touches.

Stevenson, 21, is considered an elite featherweight prospect, and has been heavily promoted by Top Rank since turning pro in 2017. He’s been matched smart, of course, but has moved pretty nicely thus far, and Simion is a perfectly understandable and solid next step for him at the stage he’s at right now.