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Shakur Stevenson says he wants people to call him the “best fighter in the world” when they watch him defend his WBC lightweight title against Floyd Schofield on next month’s Feb. 22 card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fight will be broadcast live on DAZN PPV and many fans will be watching. This is Shakur’s big opportunity to expand his fan base by putting on a show and stealing the show in the main event between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
“Best in the world”
“I dominate. I don’t have close fights. You see me go up one, two, three, four, five, six rounds, and then there comes a point where someone just wants to get it over with. They want a knockout, or there will be a lot of criticism for it,” Shakur Stevenson told Exit secondsreacting to people who criticize his fighting style, labeling him “boring”.
“I feel very much in the pocket. In my last fight (Artem Harutyunyan), I sat in the pocket. If he comes out unscathed, I’ll have to put him in his place,” Shakur said of Floyd Schofield. “I will fight all those guys. I’ll fight Ryan. I will 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 is not true that Shakur stays “in the pocket for a long time” in his fights. He only does this when facing weak opposition. When he faces rivals 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 was left in the pocket because he was weak and slow. In his previous fight against Edwin De Los Santos, Stevenson was on his bike for the entire 12-round fight and was booed by fans.
The fighters Shakur would like to fight are not interested in fighting him. He says he would like to fight Teófimo López, Ryan García and Devin Haney. Those guys aren’t going to fight him because he doesn’t participate and moves 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 that’s the biggest and best fight you can do in the sport of boxing. Any time they want these big fights to happen, I’m ready to fight anyone and everyone,” Stevenson said.
Turki Al-Sheikh could possibly entice 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 in fighting him.
