Boxing

Shaukur Stevenson Reveals Who He's Eyeing For His Next Fight

In a recent interview, the new WBO super-lightweight champion revealed who he has his eyes on.
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Shakur Stevenson
Shakur Stevenson | IMAGO / Torsten Helmke

Shakur Stevenson has identified his next possible opponent.

After capturing the WBO super-lightweight world title on Saturday night with a dominating performance against Teofimo Lopez, Stevenson has the class of the decision.

At 28-years-old, Stevenson made history by becoming the third-youngest four-division world champion in the history of the sport, after Oscar De La Hoya and Adrien Broner. Now, the Newark native has his eyes set on the fighter who is referred to as boxing’s ‘mini Mike Tyson.”

Shakur Stevenson
Shakur Stevenson | IMAGO / Torsten Helmke

During an appearance on Cigar Talk with host Naji Chill, Stevenson said he may stick around in the super-lightweight division. He also expressed his interest in taking on Mexico’s WBC Interim champion, Isaac Cruz.

“It’s about the guys that are most lucrative and the guys that are the most lucrative fights are the guys that I am going to fight,” Stevenson said.“I see Pitbull [Isaac Cruz]. Pitbull is a guy who is a name in the sport. Honestly, it’s a lot of casual fans who love Pitbull.”

“So, most of his fanbase is the guys that are casuals, and they believe that a guy like Pitbull would be the style to do something with me,” Stevenson continued. “But  [he is] easy work.”

Stevenson doesn't care about pound-for-pound rankings.

Elsewhere in the interview, Naji said that after Stevenson took down Lopez, he ranked him as a top-three pound-for-pound fighter. When asked if he cares about rankings, Stevenson said that he doesn’t pay much attention because the system is too “political.”

“I don't care no more. At the end of the day, it's a political type of thing. It's politics. If this person likes this other person, they put the guys higher than me,” Stevenson argued.

"Personally, to go beat Teo the way that I did with Teo being a 28-year-old fighter in his prime, and he just dominated against a guy like Arnold Barbosa, made him look like food, and then I make him look even worse than Arnold Barbosa did against him, I'm up there. But I always know it's a list that can be played with,” Stevenson continued.

Cruz could present Stevenson with a formidable challenge with his ultra-aggressive boxing style. Back in December, Cruz defended his WBC Interim title in a draw with Lamont Roach Jr.

Currently, Cruz is behind Alberto Puello in the rankings for a shot at Dalton Smith, the reigning WBC titleholder champion.

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