Shakur Stevenson isn’t about to lose any sleep over the idea of not being his promoter’s favorite 130-pound fighter. 

The junior lightweight ace from Newark, New Jersey is set to challenge WBO titleholder Jamel Herring on Oct. 23 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Both fighters are promoted by Top Rank. 

If it had been up to Stevenson, however, he would have preferred to take on a different opponent, in promotional colleague and 130-pound titleholder Oscar Valdez. But, according to Stevenson, Valdez is getting the kid glove treatment from their mutual promoter who apparently is in no rush to pair them in the ring.

“I don’t mind telling the world that they [Top Rank] love Oscar Valdez,” the southpaw Stevenson told FightHype.com, “and they don’t want me to be in the ring with Oscar Valdez because they know what’s going to happen. 

“And Oscar Valdez don’t want [to fight me] either. He can sit there after the fight and go on and say, ‘Oh, I want to fight Shakur Stevenson.’ But when we reach out there ain’t no talks about me and him fighting. They ain’t nothin’. He’s going to say in the interview [that he wants to fight me], but he ain’t really jumping in towards it.”

Stevenson (16-0, 8 KOs) feels that Valdez’s recent career-best win over Miguel Berchelt last February – via a brutal 10th round TKO – gives Top Rank financial incentive to push the Mexican as an attraction. Valdez is set to defend his WBC 130-pound title against Robson Conceicao on Sept. 10 at the Casino Del Sol in Valdez’s second home of Tucson, Arizona.

“Oscar Valdez is making Top Rank money and you know he’s going to be selling out arenas after that win over [Miguel] Berchelt,” Stevenson told FightHype.com “And they want to use him to their advantage. I don’t think they’re in a rush to throw him in with me.

“I want to take that fight right away. I don’t want to wait, but it’s still politics at the end of the day.”

Still, Stevenson is confident that the Valdez fight will eventually be made, especially if Stevenson ends up defeating Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) on Oct. 23 to own a piece of the junior lightweight crown. When that happens, says Stevenson, the fight with Valdez will be bigger than ever. 

“I would’ve taken Oscar Valdez first, just because of the fact that Oscar Valdez is a young, undefeated fighter, never lost, nobody beat him,” Stevenson said. “He’s more of an attraction. He’s a Mexican fighter. I’m black. Mexicans versus blacks make big, big fights. I would’ve took Oscar Valdez. 

“But it’s going to be a bigger fight after I get this belt, taking it from Jamel. Then me and Oscar can square off.”