The title holder is yet to match his exploits from his junior lightweight days, but he is nevertheless still regarded as one of the top talents in the division.

He makes his defence live on ESPN on July 6 ( click here for details ), and a victory could open up the division to some high-profile bouts later in the year.

Speaking to Sky Sports , Arum suggested that two other lightweight champions would be suitable rivals in future.

"I want to see a real top performance from Shakur," he said. "It's an exciting fight.

"I know if he goes in and pecks away, he can beat anybody but that doesn't entertain people and professional boxing is part entertainment, so I want him to engage in an entertaining fight.

"That lightweight division is loaded; Tank Davis just scored another knockout against Frank Martin in a very exciting fight…[Vasyl] Lomachenko now has one of the lightweight titles, and he and Davis would be a massive, massive fight.

"There is a lot of activity in those divisions and those fighters seem ready and willing to fight each other."

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