As rumors swirl around a fight against Manny Pacquiao, The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion instead announced that he’s looking for a title unification clash against WBA champ Gary Antuanne Russell.

“Gary Antuanne Russell, let’s unify,” Stevenson said on social media.

Stevenson's missive made waves online, but Russell has remained quiet on the callout and hasn’t responded yet with a comment of his own. Russell (19-1, 17 KOs) defended his WBA belt for the first time in February with a hard-fought, unanimous-decision win against Andy Hiraoka in Las Vegas.

“The whole world will be ready to turn on me at any time over any little thing; I love it, though. That’s why I’m gonna stay focused and keep showing y’all why I’m the best,” Stevenson added. “Then it’s, ‘Oh, he’s scared of this guy, he’s scared of that guy. So, I’m scared of everybody in the 135, 140, and 147-pound divisions. I’m even scared of the 130-pound fighters who don’t fight at 135.

“I’m not gonna let my foot off y’all neck, either. Y’all complain like I don’t fight anybody. Okay – compare my last two fights against William Zepeda and Teofimo Lopez Jr. and name the opponents of your favorite fighter’s last two fights."

Stevenson’s resume began aging well August 1, when Zepeda returned from his unanimous-decision defeat against Stevenson in July 2025 to comfortably beat Lamont Roach Jr. for the WBC lightweight title. Three weeks later, Lopez bested Rolando Romero for the WBA welterweight belt following his one-sided decision loss to Stevenson in January.

Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) is a former featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight champ. He is also ranked No. 3 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list.

The 29-year-old Newark, New Jersey, native signed a promotional pact with Zuffa Boxing over the summer. The deal was announced on July 9, but Stevenson hasn’t been able to seize the momentum of the partnership to secure a significant fight.

Stevenson made his 140-pound debut against Lopez, but the big-money, legacy-defining matchups are against the likes of 147-pound champs Ryan Garcia (WBC) and Devin Haney (WBO). Stevenson has maintained a preference for 144-pound catchweights against fighters who are bigger than him.

But consider Pacquiao, the living legend who will turn 48 in December, out of the picture.

“Yeah, that’s not true. No. I don’t know where that [report] came from,” Zuffa Boxing and UFC frontman Dana White said on Saturday regarding a rumored Stevenson-Pacquiao pitting.

While calling out Russell, Stevenson also voiced his displeasure about the ongoing discourse involving his next fight.

“Don’t believe any ‘per source’ in boxing,” Stevenson said. “All these guys use ‘per source’ to spread rumors and give out false information and let you idiots run with the narrative. Nothing is done until it’s done in the sport of boxing.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.