After failing to make the 130lb weight limit for his latest fight and declaring that he was moving up, Shakur Stevenson has waited no time in putting his new division on blast.
Stevenson, despite being forced to forfeit his belts on the scale, went on to win his last fight handily before he begins a lightweight campaign. He beat Robson Conceicao in his hometown by unanimous decision, and now looks upwards to bigger men and bigger fights.
It’s a fresh group of challenges for the Newark boxer – and he’s not been given anytime to settle, either. With his first fight at 135lb not announced never mind discussed, Stevenson was targeted by Ryan Garcia on Instagram recently.
“No, Shakur does not wash me. Stop it. He can’t even wash that other guy that he fought [Conceicao] – because he should’ve got him out of there. He definitely can’t wash me … He’s not knocking nobody out. The worst thing he could do is jab you to death, I guess.”
Ryan Garcia giving his honest thoughts on Shakur Stevenson today…
[📽️ @RyanGarcia] pic.twitter.com/kiIdN23NUu
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) September 28, 2022
Stevenson saw the comments and responded via Twitter, saying that Garcia’s chin was ‘suspect’ and that ‘everybody and their mommas’ wanted to knock him out. He also took to Instagram to address ‘KingRy’s ability, as well as his plans for the lightweight division.
“At the end of the day, he’s got a bunch of Instagram followers, but he can’t fight. Real talent always prevails.”
“135 is about to be mine. I don’t care what they talking about. Got a belt at 126, went up to 130, did what I was supposed to do there, now we at 135 it’s gonna be the same thing, nothing’s gonna change. I don’t care about none of the fake belts, all I really care about is the real world titles. Let’s do it.”
Stevenson is a huge talent added to a division that’s full of it already. As a weight class, 135lb would undoubtedly be one of the most exciting in the sport, but there’s one thing getting in the way – match making.
Fans will hope that the introduction of Stevenson shakes things up and causes the best to fight the best, including the two men whose back and forth looks set to continue.