Shakur Stevenson puts himself above Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in top five list
Shakur Stevenson, the WBO Junior Lightweight Champion, is undoubtedly a real talent. According to the man himself, he's boxing's best.
Stevenson meets Oscar Valdez in a title unification bout on April 30. Top Rank released an interview between Stevenson and boxing analyst Mark Kriegel in the lead-up to the fight.
Krigel asked the Newark native to rank the top five boxers in the sport right now. Stevenson obliged:
"If you not talking accolades, I'm going to give you my answer. And my answer would be Shakur Stevenson, number one, 'Bud' Crawford, Jaron Ennis, Canelo Alvarez, Tank [Gervonta Davis] or Errol Spence for the last spot."
Watch the full Top Rank interview with Stevenson below:
There's a lot to like about Stevenson. At 24 years old, the fighter from Newark, New Jersey, is a two-division champion. He's also a 2014 world amateur champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist.
Stevenson stopped then-champion Jamel Herring in round 10 in October last year to win the WBO Junior Lightweight belt. His meeting with Valdez will be his first unification matchup.
Shakur Stevenson rated Terence Crawford, Jaron Ennis, Canelo Alvarez, Gervonta Davis and Errol Spence Jr. below himself
Stevenson's talent isn't in doubt, but some of his words could garner criticism. He's young in his career and lacks victories over established champions.
In the same Top Rank interview, Stevenson further qualified his previous answer:
"It ain't that I have to believe that, I actually believe I'm the best fighter in the sport of boxing. I'm very dominant, so you see me in fights where it's like 10-2 or 11-1, and I feel like that makes me the best fighter in the sport of boxing."
Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) is the WBC Junior Lightweight Champion. He fought Robson Conceicao in a decision win in September 2021.
A commanding performance against Valdez would add credibility to Stevenson's opinion. Pound-for-pound rankings are unofficial. The Ring Magazine doesn't have Stevenson listed in its pound-for-pound rankings.
Check out ESPN Ringside's Twitter post on Stevenson's top five list:
Shakur Stevenson told @MarkKriegel who his top-5 fighters in the world are 🌎 https://t.co/4QZ8eYOP5U
Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez will fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 30. The WBO Champion hopes to validate his claims by becoming a unified champion for the first time on ESPN.