Philadelphia Eagles Star Saquon Barkley Reveals Favorite Boxer

Boxing found its way into the conversation at Super Bowl media day.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, who is the nephew of former three-division champion Iran Barkley, was asked about his favorite fighters to watch and the comparisons from boxing to football.

Barkley named three-division champion Shakur Stevenson as his favorite boxer and noted the individual nature of football within the team sport as how it compares to boxing.

"I got a lot of current boxers I like to watch," Saquon said. "My favorite right now would definitely be Shakur Stevenson. Boxing is kind of its own sport. It's an individual sport, but I think the mentality is big and it's a team sport but within the team sport, you've got to win your one-on-ones...You've got to go in there and go for the KO."

Saquon Barkley Says Shakur Stevenson Is His Favorite Boxer! @saquon @ShakurStevenson @NFL @NFLMedia #SuperBowl #SuperBowlLIX
Watch the interview here: https://t.co/CUgvbVGcme pic.twitter.com/PK3jHH73Es
— CHAMPSIDE (@theCHAMPSIDE) February 5, 2025

Saquon's uncle, Iran (43-19-1, 27 KOs), won titles in the middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. The biggest wins of his career came against Hall-of-Famer Thomas Hearns, as he won the first bout by third-round knockout and won by split decision in their second meeting. Iran won the WBC middleweight championship with his first win over Hearns (61-5-1, 48 KOs) on June 6, 1988.

Iran found himself in another bout against another Hall of Famer the next time he stepped in the ring when he lost by split decision in a hotly contested fight to all-time great Roberto Duran. Iran's bout vs. Duran (103-16, 70 KOs) was viewed by some as the 1989 Fight of the Year. Other former champions that Iran fought include James Toney, Michael Nunn and Nigel Benn.

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Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) has won titles at featherweight and junior lightweight and is currently the WBC lightweight champion. The undefeated slick southpaw returns to action on Feb. 22 in Saudi Arabia to defend his WBC title against the also undefeated Floyd Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs).

Saquon, who is in the middle of a historic season in his first year with the Eagles, will look for his first ring and to stop a potential three-peat when they face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.

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