Terence Crawford took a fellow US boxer under his arm in Shakur Stevenson towards the end of his active career in the sport.
Omaha Nebraska’s Crawford sparred even with the younger Stevenson of Newark at points.
Crawford has retired since but recently Stevenson said on the mentorship from Terence Crawford:
“For sure. Honestly, me watching his journey kind of motivated me for my journey. Like me seeing a lot of people went against him early on in his career and then he kind of beat the odds. So when he beat the odds, it’s like it’s possible for me. So he opened up the door for me for sure.”
Certainly there is few better sparring partners he could have got than Terence Crawford.
No doubt.
But Crawford is a very different technical fighter to Stevenson in terms of how they box.
Stevenson is purely a defensive counter puncher but Crawford is a boxer-fighter who can fight going backwards and forwards.
Crawford an outstanding boxer himself but much more entertaining.
Floyd Mayweather is a mess in boxing and in life now, as everyone can see in the boxing news lately but consider something.
Before that, maybe he might have been a better mentor for Stevenson as the two are both defensive maestros in there.
Similar fight styles and maybe also at times similar brash personalities.
Unlike the more softly spoken Terence Crawford, a much more silent man away from professional boxing.
Some notes on this for a bit of further balance, also:
- Mayweather and Stevenson share a brash, outspoken personality, while Crawford is quiet and reserved.
- Both Mayweather and Stevenson rely on defense and “hit and not get hit,” while Crawford is more of a power puncher.
- Mayweather has publicly praised Stevenson’s defensive skills and ring IQ.
- Shakur Stevenson has compared his mentorship with Mayweather to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
- Mayweather has attended Stevenson’s fights and given him direct strategy sessions.
- Stevenson lacks the Terence Crawford knockout power, making Mayweather’s defensive blueprint more suitable.
- Crawford’s mentorship emphasizes hard work, while Mayweather’s fits Stevenson’s natural instincts.
- Mayweather has experience handling strong-willed fighters like Stevenson.
- Crawford’s style is based on pressure and power, not pure defense like Mayweather’s.
- Mayweather’s defensive legacy offers a clearer path for Stevenson to emulate.
- Terence Crawford and Floyd Mayweather both offer different things but maybe the latter may have been a bit better for Stevenson due to the above.
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