“I’m just an ordinary person,” Shakur Stevenson recently told Joe Rogan on Rogan’s hugely popular podcast. Stevenson was both right and wrong. He was right that he wasn’t interested in being one of the dazzling players. “I’m different,” he told Rogan. “I’m not like these guys.” Quite good, but Stevenson’s skills in the ring, which could be admired a few weeks ago when he completely outclassed the excellent Teofimo Lopez, show a different side of the man. It could be just an ordinary guy on the street. In the ring, however, the man is far from ordinary.

He may be humble, but Stevenson is candid about his career. “It’s just solid work, dedication and God-given ability,” he said. “I think I’m the most complete fighter in boxing.” No doubt many will now agree with this. “I just feel like I’m a fighter who can do anything,” he said. “I feel like I’m the best fighter in boxing.” Once again, no doubt many will now agree with this. Indeed, the fight with Lopez elevated Stevenson from a fighter who could be great to a fighter who is undoubtedly great. “It scared a lot of people,” he said of the Lopez fight.

Indeed, Stevenson knew Lopez would be a tough competitor if he took the stage. “I couldn’t believe how good he was,” Stevenson said of seeing Lopez perform live and in person last year in Time Square. But this only strengthened Stevenson’s determination. “I want to see what he can do to me,” he recalled telling himself. He has since learned what Lopez could do with him – and it wasn’t much. Stevenson now has two junior welterweight championship belts in his possession. Fighters may want to ignore him, but avoiding him won’t be an simple task if you’re an ambitious junior welterweight who doesn’t want to be accused of avoiding competition.

Perhaps surprisingly, Stevenson greatly admires his friend, the recently retired Terence Crawford, for his friendship and discipline. “He took my game from where it was to a very high level,” Stevenson said of his mentor. Greatness recognizing greatness. Like Crawford, Stevenson enjoys the hard-earned fruits of his labor. But he’ll be back in the ring soon, because there’s always a recent battle to fight. Stevenson won’t fight forever. He wants to retire someday with health and money. Bright and skilled – certainly a winning combination.

Proposed changes to the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act are gaining attention in Washington, but some industry officials say the changes could make it more tough for smaller promoters to continue to host boxing events across the United States in many local markets across the country.

The legislation, known as the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act of 2026, includes several fresh provisions related to medical supervision and fighter protection. The proposal called for higher injury insurance, required ambulance and medical staff at events, expanded drug testing and a higher minimum pay for players.

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Last update: 2026/03/12 at 3:18

Oleksandr Usyk listed his ideal last three fights, starting with Rico Verhoeven in May, then winner Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois, and ending with a trilogy fight with the returning Tyson Fury.

Only the fight against Verhoeven is certain – which is controversial for Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title – and the remaining fights are still to be negotiated, but interim champion and mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel seriously questions that list.

In a conversation on Instagram, the German heavyweight said:

“My parents always told me to stay humble and respectful. But I can no longer accept being ignored. I deserve to fight for the title.”

In an interview with RTL/ntv and sport.de, Kabayel expanded on this point, saying that Usyk’s plan proves that “he is only interested in money.”

“I always respected Usyk very much for his sporting achievements and I said: ‘Hey, he’s not afraid of challenges and he keeps his words.’ But he is only interested in money; everything else doesn’t interest him. Now I noticed it again very clearly.

“How can he not name the number one in the rankings, his mandatory challenger? It’s just melancholy that he would rather fight Dubois or Fury for a third time, even though he has already beaten them both twice.”

Kabayel – who himself came to a draw in his last fight against Daniel Knyba – fully deserves a chance to win the full world title by defeating Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang to claim the WBC interim belt. Usyk has been cleared by the sanctioning body to fight him after Verhoeven, but the Ukrainian appears likely to vacate the belt or lobby for an undisputed fight against the winner of Wardley and Dubois.

Usyk is in danger of losing not only the WBC belt, but also the IBF and WBA belts. Neither promotion has commented on the Verhoeven fight and could very well have opted to get rid of Usyk rather than follow the WBC route of putting their belt on the line, which was met with extreme fan backlash.