By Keith Idec

Bob Arum couldn’t talk Shakur Stevenson out of it.

That, more than anything, is why Stevenson has been scheduled to take such a steep step up in competition on the Terence Crawford-Amir Khan undercard. Eager to test himself against a championship-caliber opponent, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist will take on Puerto Rican veteran Christopher Diaz in an encounter ESPN Pay-Per-View will air April 20 from Madison Square Garden in New York.

The 21-year-old Stevenson is 10-0, including six knockouts, since making his pro debut in April 2017. He has recorded impressive knockout wins in each of his last two bouts, both of which were broadcast by ESPN.

Diaz, 24, is much better, however, than his past two opponents – Romania’s Viorel Simon (21-3, 9 KOs) and the Philippines’ Jessie Cris Rosales (22-2-1, 10 KOs).

Arum more than acknowledged differing levels of opposition during a recent interview with krikya360.com. In fact, Arum admitted that his veteran matchmakers, Bruce Trampler and Brad Goodman, advised against sending Stevenson into a fight with an imposing opponent like Diaz just yet.

“I think it’s a very, very dangerous fight,” Arum said. “Our matchmakers were not in favor of doing the fight, because they thought it might be a step too far, putting Shakur, who is, truth be told, even though a big talent, wet behind the ears. And we’re putting him in with an experienced guy, like Diaz. That’s not a walk in the park, baby. Diaz has not only been a [regional] champion, but he’s been a champion in a weight division above 126, which means that he’s not a little guy. It means that he’s used to fighting heavier guys, when he campaigned as a 130-pounder. Shakur’s gonna have his hands full with this guy.”

Diaz considers this 10-round fight versus Stevenson as a high-profile opportunity to bounce back from his loss eight months ago to Masayuki Ito (25-1-1, 13 KOs).

Japan’s Ito dropped Diaz (24-1, 16 KOs) in the fourth round of their 130-pound championship match July 28 in Kissimmee, Florida and convincingly defeated Diaz by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder. Ito won the then-vacant WBO super featherweight title that had been vacated by Vasiliy Lomachenko, who moved up to lightweight early last year.

Diaz decided to move back down to the featherweight limit of 126 pounds following that lopsided loss. Diaz’s success at featherweight didn’t deter Stevenson or his handlers.

“We couldn’t argue anymore with them,” Arum said. “Shakur was pushing it so strongly. So was coach Kay [Koroma] and Shakur’s grandfather [Wali Moses]. We went and talked to his manager, a good friend of ours, James Prince. And Prince said, ‘Look, that’s what he wants to do. The kid knows his own ability. Go along with it.’ So, we went along with it. That wasn’t James Prince saying, ‘Oh, my guy will beat him easy.’ Prince is very worried about the fight.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.