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Shakur Stevenson says he wants to be called the “best fighter in the world” by people when they watch him defend his WBC lightweight title against Floyd Schofield on next month’s February 22 card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fight will be broadcast live on DAZN PPV, and many fans will follow. This is Shakur’s big chance to expand his fan base by putting on a show and stealing the thunder from the main event between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
“The best in the world”
“I dominate. I have no upcoming fights. You see me go up one, two, three, four, five, six rounds, and then there comes a point where somebody just wants to get it over with. They want a knockout, or there’s going to be a lot of criticism,” Shakur Stevenson told the secondsoutreacting to people criticizing his fighting style, calling it “boring”.
“I sit in the pocket a lot. My last fight (Artem Harutyunyan), I sat in the pocket. If he comes in without a wreck, I’m going to have to put him in his place,” Shakur said of Floyd Schofield. “I’ll fight all those guys. I’ll fight Ryan. I’ll fight Devin or Teo. Any of those guys. If those guys want to fight me, I’ll fight them.
“That I’m the best fighter in the world,” Shakur said when asked what he wants people to say about him when he fights Schofield on Feb. 22 in Riyadh. “I know I’m the best fighter in the world and I can’t wait to prove it,” Stevenson said.
It’s not true that Shakur sits “very in the pocket” in his fights. It only does so when faced with weak opposition. When facing opposition with talent and power, he never stays in the pocket, which is why he is criticized.
In Stevenson’s last fight against Artem Harutyunyan, he stayed in the pocket because he was weak and slow. In his match earlier against Edwin De Los Santos, Stevenson was on his bike for the entire 12-round fight and was booed by the fans.
The fighters that Shakur would like to fight are not interested in fighting him. He says he would like to fight Teofimo Lopez, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney. These guys won’t fight him because he doesn’t commit and moves around too much. That’s why Stevenson hasn’t gotten a bite from Gervonta Davis and Vasily Lomachenko.
“I would love to fight Tank. I would love to fight Gervonta Davis. I think this is the biggest fight and the best fight to be made in the sport of boxing. Anytime they want to make these big fights happen, I’m ready to fight anyone and everyone,” Stevenson said.
Turki Al-Sheikh could lure Tank to fight Shakur, but it will take a big offer for that fight to happen because there is no interest from the Baltimore native to fight him.
