After fielding boxing’s version of an almost no-hitter in the World Series, defeating Teofimo Lopez Jr. and winning the WBO junior welterweight title in front of 21,324 fans at Madison Square Garden in Modern York, Shakur Stevenson separated himself from his peers.
Being on the outside watching the recent version of boxing’s “Four Kings” (Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis and Lopez), Stevenson built his dynasty, defeated the King and became a four-division champion.
He was patient and waited for an opportunity to strike. He just needed a willing opponent and he found one in Lopez. Stevenson, 28, entered the fight by increasing weight, which put him at a disadvantage against Lopez. Unfortunately for Lopez, a few pounds couldn’t make up for the significant skill gap, and Stevenson lost only one round on all three judges’ scorecards.
“Finally someone took the bait,” Stevenson said during his post-fight press conference. “I’ve been begging for this moment and I finally got it.”
Now the immediate question is where it will go next. After losing weight, money and a starring role to prove his worth in previous fights, Stevenson (25-0, 11 KO) no longer has to sell out to fight the biggest names in the sport. However, as he continues his pursuit of greatness and climbs the ladder pound for pound, Stevenson will continue to challenge himself.
While he could look undisputed at 140 pounds while chasing fights against titleholders Richardson Hitchins (IBF), Gary Antuanne Russell (WBA) and Dalton Smith (WBC), will any of these names add to his legacy? Neither of them would be favored to beat him and would likely come off as a significant underdog. For Stevenson, his next move will likely involve putting himself in another perceived disadvantage to even the playing field.
Enter Conor Benn.
Benn is not a world champion, but the idea that he recently moved up two weight classes from welterweight to middleweight to beat Chris Eubank Jr. is tempting to Stevenson.
“There is a player here at the moment and he motivated me tonight too. Where is Conor Benn?” Stevenson asked in the ring after the victory. “Conor Benn, we could do this, boy. I want the same irrigation clause you used [Chris] Eubank Jr. and I want this fight.
“Sign the contract. Let’s make it happen.”
There is a method to Stevenson’s madness and it has little to do with collecting world champion titles.
“People compare Floyd Mayweather to Terence Crawford, but Floyd was never the undisputed champion,” Stevenson told ESPN before the Lopez fight. “I’m not starting this debate because in my opinion neither one is better than the other, but people keep swearing that Floyd is better than Bud, even though Terence was undisputed in three weight classes and went from 147 pounds to 168 pounds.
“Do seat belts matter to society as much as they do to us?”
Stevenson is right. In terms of legacy, it was more about taking on the biggest challenges than collecting world titles. An ordinary fan often has no idea what world titles are being fought for and is more interested in the fight.
“I like substantial fights,” Stevenson said. “I like substantial money fights. I like to prove that I’m the best and do things that people say I can’t do. There are people who say I’m too diminutive for Conor Benn and that means an amazing fight.”
Stevenson also told ESPN that he sees opponents at 147 and 154 pounds that he thinks he can beat, so it’s not out of the question that he could move up a weight class or two in his next fight. He has long been on the hunt for a fight with current welterweight champion Devin Haney, and if Ryan Garcia defeats Mario Barrios to become the WBC welterweight champion next month, that would be another opponent that could be in his sights.
At this rate, Stevenson will eventually go from hunter to hunted. His victory over Lopez proved that he is virtually unbeatable on equal terms. Throughout his professional career, he rarely lost a round, much less came close to losing a fight. He has proven that he is almost good and needs to find a way to put himself at a disadvantage to challenge himself.
We’re in our prime and Stevenson continues his remarkable run of proving himself as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Can anyone stop him from achieving his goal?
This seems quite unlikely at the moment.
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