Shakur Stevenson proved his elite level once again this past weekend, defeated Teofimo Lopez and barely breaking a sweat while doing it. Next, he is targeting another move up in weight to face Conor Benn.
Stevenson won all but one round on the three scorecards to become a four-weight world champion, negating any threat posed by Lopez at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.
Post-fight, he faced off with Benn — who is coming off a victory over Chris Eubank Jr but is yet to fight at world title level — making it clear he is willing to move up yet another division to beat him.
Speaking to IFL TV in the aftermath of the win, Hall of Famer Andre Ward — a friend and mentor to Stevenson — assessed the idea of the fight and sees his man winning handily despite the weight disadvantage.
“Absolutely [I like that fight]. Conor’s always dangerous. He’s gonna come forward, but, man, it’s gonna look a lot like that [Lopez win]. It’s no disrespect to Conor Benn. I respect what he does and how he does it, but [Shakur’s] skill set is different.”
Despite the theatre from both men, one obstacle is the rehydration clause. Stevenson is adamant that he wants Benn to weigh no more than 157lbs, ten over the welterweight limit, on the morning of the fight. It’s something Benn, despite Eubank facing the same stipulation at middleweight for their two encounters, is not keen on.
It is a dealbreaker that may see Benn instead face either Rolando Romero or the winner of Mario Barrios vs Ryan Garcia for a world title. Stevenson has plenty of options, including a drop back down to lightweight.
