Shakur Stevenson of Newark in the US is a quality champion in today’s times of boxing but he is making wild claims.
He had a career best victory last time out in the ring earlier this year against Teofimo Lopez, his fellow US rival.
He won a unanimous points decision at 140 pounds in their bout and Lopez barely landed a glove on him.
But Stevenson is now saying he is the leader of his generation in boxing but he is very mistaken on that.
Badly.
His fight style is far too boring to claim that firstly.
While he is defensively the best boxer in the world and up there pound for pound in the top 5, he is still wrong.
To be the leader of an entire sport you can’t be that boring a fighter and you have to fight the big fights and challenges in boxing consistently.
He has done neither yet.
Floyd Mayweather in his early days when he became a face of boxing was knocking people out left, right and centre in his ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd Mayweather days.
Then hand trouble set in and Mayweather broke his hands and became a little boring as a boxer afterwards.
He pot shotted a bit more and took less risks in the ring and won mostly points decisions after the hand trouble days.
But people forget in his early days he was very exciting and was knocking everyone out.
So were other leaders in boxing in terms of the number one fighters at different times like Manny Pacquiao and years before that, Roy Jones.
Modern day pound for pound leading boxers like Usyk and Naoya Inoue even have all been in exciting, not boring fights.
Often knocking out or knocking down opponents in their bouts all around the world.
Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez before them as well were in many exciting fights and never in dull, boring bouts.
US boxer Terence Crawford dissected Canelo Alvarez when they fought last year only as well.
All the way up at super-middleweight in an incredible achievement.
Shakur Stevenson has shown that he does not particularly like moving up in weight and is very risk averse.
None of the leaders of different times of boxing have had that mentality anyway.
Already he is bringing up weight with a possible fight with Devin Haney at the moment as well.
Not of these characteristics show Shakur Stevenson anywhere near the leader of boxing’s next generation.
Not even close.
Boxing is doing great right now as a sport but Stevenson needs to sign and compete in the big fights on a regular basis.
Not weight draining boxers as well with crazy rehydration clause fight requests.
Fight them at their best.
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