A two weight world champion at the age of 26, few would deny that former Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson is amongst the most talented fighters in all of boxing.
That said, when Stevenson was asked to list who he believes are the top five boxers in the world in terms of skill, his number one should not come as a major shock.
The Newark southpaw revealed his rankings in a recent interview with ES News.
“The top 5 most skilled fighters in boxing? Number one – me! I’m going with myself for number one.”
“Number two – ‘Bud.’ Number three? This is where it gets kind of tricky. I’ve been watching a lot of Inoue, I like him.”
“Number four, I’m going to go with ‘Tank.’ And five? In terms of skills, I like Tyson Fury.”
Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford has been a training partner of Stevenson’s in recent months and the two have become firm friends, so his inclusion is no surprise.
Naoya Inoue is right up alongside Crawford on pound-for-pound lists following his move up to super-bantamweight to win the unified titles this year.
Stevenson’s decision to include his lightweight rival, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis backs up his feeling that a match-up between the pair is the best fight to be made at 135. Finally, few can deny Tyson Fury’s impressive reign at heavyweight, and his elite boxing skills for a big man.
Stevenson looks set for an opportunity to add a lightweight world title to the honours he has picked up at feather and super feather, with terms reportedly agreed for a clash with countryman Frank Martin for the vacant WBC world title.
The fight was ordered by the WBC, and a deal has been struck between Top Rank and PBC for a showdown in late November or early December.
And though Martin is undefeated and a gifted fighter in his own right, Stevenson will go in as a big favourite to emerge with the world title and set up even bigger dates.