The boxing world is raving about Shakur Stevenson after his latest victory, and many consider him unbeatable, but there is one fighter who believes the southerner from Newark will avoid him at all costs.
Stevenson dethroned Teofimo Lopez to win the WBO super lightweight title on Saturday evening.
After being stripped of the WBC lightweight belt just days later, it’s unclear whether Stevenson will stay at 140 to defend his modern belt or return to 135 without a title, but he has huge fights ahead of him.
With plenty of options on the table, two-division world champion Tim Bradley has selected WBC super featherweight ruler O’Shaquie Foster as the man who can provide Stevenson with his toughest test.
“I’ll tell you all, you may not agree with me, but a fighter who can match Shakur, I’m not saying he’ll beat him, but he can get along with him at his level, his name is O’Shaquie Foster.
“Foster, in terms of fame, is not greater than Teo, but in terms of skill [he is]. O’Shaquie should be on the pound-for-pound list. O’Shaquie has a lot of what Shakur has in the distance, and he also got a quick push from the southpaw position.
“The last fighter to defeat Shakur Stevenson [in the amateurs] he was a southpaw. O’Shaquie can go Orthodox too, he’s huge too. It has some size, reach and some pop.
On the “Come and Talk to Me” podcast. – an interview that took place before Stevenson’s WBC belt was announced – Foster said Stevenson would avoid the 135-pound division due to the threat of moving up from 130 and becoming his mandatory challenger.
“If he goes back to 135 pounds, I will make it happen, he will have no choice. But I guarantee you he will stay away from me. I guarantee you he will not go back to 135 pounds.
“That’s what he’s going to do, I promise you. Why do you think he’s talking about Conor Benn and ‘I just want huge fights,’ so wow, because he knows that if he goes back to 135, I’m going to press that button and make him mandatory and we’ll see.”
If Stevenson remains at 140 pounds, Cuba’s WBC interim lightweight champion Jadier Herrera is expected to either be promoted to full champion or fight for the vacant belt, with Foster being one of the possible candidates for the opposite corner.