{"id":452979,"date":"2026-02-04T09:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452979\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T09:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T09:14:09","slug":"wbc-lists-lightweight-title-vacant-after-stevenson-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/452979\/","title":{"rendered":"WBC Lists Lightweight Title Vacant After Stevenson Move"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shakur Stevenson\u2019s move up to light welterweight has quietly cleared the WBC lightweight title out of circulation, leaving the 135 pound division stalled without an active champion.<\/p>\n

The 135 pound division finally has some movement, though it comes after months of unnecessary waiting. Shakur Stevenson\u2019s jump to junior welterweight effectively removed the WBC lightweight title from the map, leaving a weight class once full of momentum sitting in neutral.<\/p>\n

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Stevenson beat Teofimo Lopez last weekend to grab the WBO title at 140 pounds. That win marked his fourth divisional conquest, yet he never actually said if he planned to come back down to defend his lightweight belt. The WBC\u2019s February 3 ratings update gave the answer fans were looking for. The organization now lists the lightweight championship as vacant.<\/p>\n

There was no big announcement or explanation from the WBC. It is still unclear if Stevenson officially vacated the title or if the sanctioning body stripped him based on his move up in weight. The lack of communication mirrors the confusion that has plagued the division for months.<\/p>\n

Top contenders spent Stevenson\u2019s 140 pound campaign in a holding pattern. A better approach would have seen the title declared vacant the moment Stevenson signed to fight at a higher weight. By letting him hold onto it, the WBC kept mandatory challengers frozen.<\/p>\n

The latest update doesn\u2019t fully fix things either. Interim titleholder Jadier Herrera, who stopped Ricardo Nunez in January, was not elevated to full champion. While Herrera\u2019s win cleared up a small part of the rankings, it didn\u2019t solve the leadership void at the top.<\/p>\n

William Zepeda now sits at the No. 1 spot. Zepeda is a familiar face in this position, having previously held the interim belt before losing a decision to Stevenson last July. His current ranking is more about Stevenson leaving than a new opportunity being created.<\/p>\n

The rest of the WBC lightweight top 15 includes:<\/p>\n

William Zepeda
\nLamont Roach Jr.
\nAndy Cruz
\nDzmitry Asanau
\nSam Noakes
\nJustin Pauldo
\nRicardo Nunez
\nJoe Cordina
\nShu Utsuki
\nBakhodur Usmonov
\nLucas Bahdi
\nJordan White
\nAlan Abel Chaves
\nArmando Rabi
\nAlbert Bell<\/p>\n

The WBC lightweight title is currently just a name on a list. Whether Stevenson walked away or was pushed, the result is identical. The division is left dealing with the fallout of a long delay that has already sucked the energy out of the 135 pound weight class.<\/p>\n

Ken Woods has been a senior writer at Boxing News 24 since 2013, covering the sport from every angle. With years of ringside reporting, he delivers fight news, results, and analysis that cut through the noise. Ken\u2019s work consistently spotlights champions, contenders, and rising prospects, giving fans a sharp, knowledgeable view of the global boxing scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb WBC Lists Lightweight Title Vacant After Stevenson Moves Up<\/p>\n

Last Updated on 02\/04\/2026 \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson\u2019s move up to light welterweight has quietly cleared the WBC lightweight title out of circulation, leaving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-452979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}