Josh Warrington: 'Negotiations have started' for Shakur Stevenson fight

The boxing world could benefit from more title-unification fights and a highly attractive one might be in the works for 2020.

Josh Warrington said that talks have begun for a unification fight with fellow featherweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson.

“I know that negotiations have started,” Warrington said in an interview with BoxingScene.com.

The 29-year-old Warrington, a big draw in his native Leeds, won a portion of the featherweight crown by outpointing Lee Selby in May of last year. He has successfully defended his belt three times, against Carl Frampton, Kid Galahad and most recently Sofiane Takoucht, whom he knocked out in two rounds.

Stevenson, 22, picked up another 126-pound title last month in a dominating points victory over Joet Gonzalez. That title had been vacated by Oscar Valdez.

“He’s a young lad,” Warrington (30-0, 7 knockouts) said of Newark’s Stevenson. “He has a lot of people around him who are going to build his confidence up. I did say to him, ‘Win a title and we’ll talk,’ so he has won a title and we’ll see what happens.”

For his part, Stevenson has been actively campaigning for a fight with Warrington on social media.

The fight would be a classic example of the bull vs. the matador, with Warrington applying his customary torrid pressure and Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs) working clinically behind his jab and sharp counters.

Both Stevenson and Warrington are promoted by Top Rank (Warrington is co-promoted by Frank Warren), so there are none of the typical promotional or network impediments standing in the way.