Muratalla on Wednesday officially vacated his IBF 135-pound title, as he suggested he’d do after successfully defending the belt against Robson Conceicao on August 1. The 29-year-old said he could no longer make the lightweight limit safely.

And the WBO has him ranked No. 1 at 140, behind champion Shakur Stevenson, who also holds The Ring junior welterweight title.

Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) had expressed interest in facing Muratalla (25-0, 17 KOs) in a title fight at 135, at which they are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 by The Ring respectively. Stevenson, No. 3 pound-for-pound, maintains that 135 is his natural weight.

However, Muratalla seems to have scuttled that possibility with the move up in weight, which puts him first in line to challenge Stevenson at 140.

Now, it remains to be seen how the champion will respond. Stevenson, 29, is also interested in challenging WBO welterweight champ Devin Haney, who is No. 8 pound for pound. However, the smaller man refuses to fight Haney at the full limit of 147 pounds and wants their bout to take place at 144, which Haney (33-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC) has pushed back on.

Stevenson became the third-youngest four-division champion thanks to his lopsided unanimous decision victory over Teofimo Lopez on January 31.