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After WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson dominated Teofimo Lopez to capture the WBO super lightweight crown this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden, he was left with a difficult choice: Go back down to lightweight or continue to campaign at super lightweight?

Now, it seems the WBC has made that decision for him.

"In light of Champion Stevenson now being the reigning WBO Super Lightweight World Champion and consistent with the WBC Rules & Regulations, the WBC has declared vacant its Lightweight World title," the sanctioning body said Wednesday in a statement.

"The WBC will provide further information regarding the process to crown a new Lightweight World Champion in the near future."

With the announcement, Stevenson is stripped of the WBC lightweight world title he won with a close unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos in November 2023. Stevenson's fight with De Los Santos was considered one of the worst of the year.

The 28-year-old made a pair of underwhelming title defenses against Artem Harutyunyan and Josh Padley before cementing his place as the No. 1 lightweight in the world with a convincing unanimous decision win over William Zepeda this past July. 

Stevenson produced the most exciting performance of his career against Zepeda, holding his feet and trading with Zepeda at times. Not only was it compelling television, but it also showcased the different facets of Stevenson's game. That newfound confidence was carried over into Stevenson's fight with Lopez, where again he fought with limited movement.

WBC's current interim champion is Jadier Herrera, although because the WBC is inconsistent with its decisions in such matters, it remains unknown whether he'll be upgraded to full champion. Zepeda remains the No. 1-ranked contender.

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The legal matters are coming hard and fast for Gervonta "Tank" Davis.

Just one week after Davis was arrested in Miami on charges of battery, false imprisonment and attempted kidnapping, a Baltimore judge has issued a warrant for his arrest regarding a separate matter. in March

Circuit Judge Althea M. Handy issued the warrant on Monday following accusations that the former champion boxer violated his probation. 

In 2023, Davis was sentenced to three years' probation, 90 days of home detention and 200 hours of community service for a 2020 hit-and-run in Baltimore that injured four people, including a pregnant woman.

Davis ultimately spent six weeks in prison after Handy ruled that he had violated the terms of his home detention by spending it at a Four Seasons Hotel and a $3.4 million high-rise penthouse instead of the approved Baltimore home of his trainer Calvin Ford.

Davis' attorney, Hunter Pruette, has asked for his arrest warrant to be recalled and for a court summons to be issued instead, as well as GPS monitoring.

“Mr. Davis has appeared as directed, posted bond, complied with all conditions, remained within Florida, and promptly notified supervision of his arrest,” Pruette wrote. “Detaining him in Maryland would frustrate, not facilitate, compliance by impairing his ability to defend the Florida case and creating substantial logistical barriers to court appearances.”

In Miami, "Tank" is being accused by ex-girlfriend Courtney Rossel of charges including battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred on Oct. 27 at Tootsies, a gentlemen's club.

Rossel claims Davis attacked her in the back room of the club before dragging her through the back exit and assaulting her in the parking garage.

Police said that surveillance footage from the club corroborates the alleged victim's story.

"The investigation determined that Mr. Davis used force to restrain in an attempt to remove the victim from the location against her will," Miami Gardens Police Department executive officer Emmanuel Jeanty said.

Rossel claimed she was a victim of domestic violence on multiple occasions during her five-month relationship with Davis prior to the incident.

News of Rossel's claim broke this past October and led to the cancelation of Davis' lucrative Netflix boxing match with Jake Paul, which was scheduled for Nov. 14 of last year.

The alleged October incident is not the first time Davis has been accused of domestic violence. Most recently, the controversial boxer was charged with striking his ex-girlfriend on the back of the head and then slapping her during an alleged dispute on Father's Day. The case was ultimately dropped after the woman declined to prosecute.

Davis was also stripped of his WBA lightweight belt in January. He has fought only twice in the past 34 months, with his most recent outing being a highly controversial draw against Lamont Roach Jr. in March.

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Jose "Rayo" Valenzuela had to overcome some adversity in his Zuffa Boxing debut.

Valenzeula fought through a horrible cut to win a wide unanimous decision over Diego Torres in the headliner of Zuffa Boxing 2 on Sunday night at Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

Valenzuela was awarded nine out of 10 rounds on all three of the judges' scorecards for his return to 135 pounds. It was the first time the former WBA super lightweight champion had fought since losing his title to Gary Antuanne Russell this past March in New York.

A worrisome cut opened up over the right eye of Valenzuela (15-3, 9 KOs) in Round 4, courtesy of a left hook from Torres.

Torres (22-2, 19 KOs), who had won four fights in a row since being stopped by current IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla in late 2023, pressured Valenzuela in the first half of the fight. Despite Valenzuela only being awarded a single round in the contest, the first half of the bout was evenly contested, with both men getting off some of their punches.

Even after suffering a cut, Valenzuela seemed to go up a level in the second half of the contest. Torres' output slowed in the later rounds, which allowed Valenzuela to time Torres' attacks and counter him effectively. The former champion was able to walk Torres into southpaw left hands. Torres' lack of head movement meant that he took power shots from Valenzuela on his gloves, which had an accumulative effect over time, as Torres was taking some of the power out of the punches, but they were still having an impact.

Valenzuela's experience at the world level was the difference. He wasn't overwhelmed by Torres' aggression, and instead was aware that if he weathered an early storm, his own speed and silky skills would take over after Torres' initial surge — and that is exactly what happened.

"I never got handouts," Valenzuela said after his win. "I'm just used to taking hard fights. Life's been hard, and I don't look for easy routes. My opponent — I want to [thank him]. I appreciate him for taking this fight. He's a dog, he only had one loss, and he showed why he's so tough today."

In the night's co-feature, Serhii Bohachuk (27-3, 24 KOs) returned to winning ways with a split decision victory over the former WBA (Regular) welterweight beltholder Radzhab Butaev (15-2, 12 KOs).

Bohachuk and Butaev produced a thoroughly entertaining 10-round, close-range slugfest. Butaev, who hadn't fought at the world level for four years and was stepping up two weight classes from his last significant fight, clearly felt the pace and non-stop pressure offered by Bohachuk, which caused him to slow down in the second half of the bout.

Although Butaev was landing the harder shots on the inside, Bohachuk set a frenetic pace and sustained it for the 10-round period. Butaev retreated to the back foot for much of the second half of the bout, choosing to counter Bohachuk coming in and picking his shots rather than trying to match Bohachuk's volume and going punch for punch with him.

It was a tight contest, but the stronger finish from Bohachuk nudged him in front. 

In the main card opener, Radivoje Kalajdzic (30-3, 21 KOs) produced a stunning turnaround victory over ex-WBC light heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk (21-3, 17 KOs).

It was an ideal start for Gvozdyk, who floored Kalajdzic in Round 1 with a left-hook-to-right-hand two-piece. Gvozdyk was seemingly proving to be too skilled for Kalajdzic, as he consistently found a home for power shots upstairs. In Round 4, it was a right hand to the body that sank Kalajdzic to the canvas for a second time. Although Kalajdzic beat the count, his defense was clearly letting him down, and Gvozdyk appeared well on his way to a stoppage victory.

But in Round 7, Kalajdzic produced a shocking comeback, rocking Gvozdyk in the final minute with a second right hand that floored the former champion. Gvozdyk rose from the canvas only to succumb to another right hand that sent him down for a second time. Gvozdyk tried to get to his feet, but he stumbled back onto the ring ropes, which forced the referee to stop the fight. 

At the time of the stoppage, Kalajdzic had lost every round on two scorecards and was awarded just one round on the third card.

Overall, Zuffa Boxing's second card was a marked improvement from the first show. All three of the main card bouts delivered terrific action.

Main card 

Lightweight: Jose "Rayo" Valenzuela def. Diego Torres Nunez via unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, 99-91)

Middleweight: Serhii Bohachuk def. Radzhab Butaev via split decision (96-94, 94-96, 96-94)

Light heavyweight: Radivoje Kalajdzic def. Oleksandr Gvozdyk via seventh-round TKO | Watch video

Prelims

Super welterweight: Jalil Hackett def. Roberto Cruz via majority decision (95-95, 96-94, 97-93)

Lightweight: Justin Viloria def. Oscar Alan Perez via unanimous decision (77-75, 79-73, 78-74)

Welterweight: Damoni Cato-Cain def. Christian Morales via unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 77-75)

Cruiserweight: Jamar Talley def. Devonte Williams via second-round KO | Watch video

Heavyweight: Damazion Vanhouter def. Francisco Julian Gomez Flores via third-round TKO | Watch video