Floyd Mayweather and Terence Crawford have flown the flag for American boxing over the past few decades but Tim Bradley believes one active fighter can find more popularity than the talented duo.
Mayweather became the face of the sport throughout the 2000s and 2010s, as he became a five-weight world champion and went on to retire with a perfect 50-0 record.
Once Mayweather hung up the gloves, Crawford eventually took over the mantle as the pound-for-pound number one in the sport, becoming undisputed in three divisions after wins over fighters such as Canelo Alvarez and Errol Spence.
Crawford has now retired too, calling time on his career having gone unbeaten in 42 fights, and it would be tough for any boxer to reach the heights that ‘Bud’ and Mayweather managed to achieve.
Two-weight world champion Bradley feels one man in particular can go one better though, revealing on his YouTube channel that he thinks Shakur Stevenson can gain even more popularity than the iconic duo.
“I feel like Shakur can be that face of American boxing that we’ve always had. We had Floyd Mayweather, I think he can be as popular as Floyd Mayweather, if not more popular than Floyd Mayweather.
“It’s no shade on Terence, he’s a remarkable fighter who will be remembered forever. He changed the game entirely and he did it this way, but I think Shakur will do it his way as well and I think he’ll be a lot more popular and a lot more respected than Terence Crawford is. That’s a shame but it is what it is.”
Stevenson became a four-weight world champion last month with a victory over WBO super-lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, and the 28-year-old still has plenty of years ahead of him to accomplish even more in the sport.
