Bob Arum has praised an unbeaten world champion who continues to take the sport by storm.

The legendary promoter began his career working in boxing in the sixties, going on to establish Top Rank as one of the promotional giants of the sport.

Arum has worked with a number of legendary fighters throughout the course of his career, including the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya to name just a few.

In more recent years, Arum has played a role in the career progression of unbeaten Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue and reemergence of heavyweight star Tyson Fury amongst a number of others.

Another fighter that Arum has worked with in the past is reigning WBC world lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, who remains unbeaten as a professional since making his debut eight years ago.

Speaking to Fight Hub TV after Stevenson’s most recent victory over William Zepeda, Arum said three-weight champion Stevenson will ‘dominate’ at lightweight for years to come.

“Shakur is one of the best fighters around, people say he’s a technician but he’s more than just a technician. He’s a great fighter and he’s a fighter that as the years go on, as the fights pile up, people will realise he’s extremely difficult to beat.

“So I wasn’t surprised at that fight and how it went because I’ve always been very high on Shakur and his ability and I think that, as long as there’s no problem making weight, he will dominate the lightweight division for years to come.”

Stevenson defeated Zepeda via unanimous decision when they clashed at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York on July 12 in what has been described by many as a career best performance, and certainly his most entertaining in recent years.

The 28-year-old is expected to return to the ring once again before the end of the year, though a unification bout with Gervonta Davis does not seem likely at this stage. Whatever the next move is, Arum wants to be involved.

Having fought the last fight of a deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, Arum told Cigar Talk that he will be making a move to get Shakur back under his promotional banner after the parted ways mid-2024.

“We’re gonna present a new deal to Shakur and hopefully we can sign him. Shakur and myself have never had a cross word. I like him as a fighter, I like him as a person, he’s a really nice young man. So, hopefully we can work again together.”