A three-division world champion has dismissed the accomplishments of Shakur Stevenson and told him what he must do in order to become the pound-for-pound king.
Stevenson became the third-youngest four-division world champion of all time when he dethroned Teofimo Lopez to capture the WBO super-lightweight world title back in January, but the 29-year-old is yet to fight since and has recently signed with Zuffa Boxing.
Presently, Naoya Inoue is considered to be the most popular choice when selecting boxing’s standout pound-for-pound candidate, but James ‘Lights Out’ Toney opted for David Benavidez in an interview with About Boxing.
Then, when quizzed as to why Benavidez got the seal of approval rather than Stevenson, Toney declared that the latter does not face the best possible opponents and that his feat of conquering four weight-classes is far easier in this era than it would have been in previous ones.
“[Not Shakur?] For what? I don’t know why [people think Shakur is pound-for-pound number one]. What has he done?
“Wrong era. If he did it [became a four-division world champion] in my era, then it would be very impressive but in this era? No it’s not.
“It’s his fault because if he wants to be top dog, fight the best fighters out there. Don’t make excuses. I did it, Roy [Jones Jr.] did it, Marvin Hagler did it.
“If you want to talk bad, back it up, like I do, every time.”
Stevenson is expected to make his Zuffa Boxing debut before the end of the year, with reigning IBF lightweight world champion Raymond Muratalla deemed to be one possible option for the opposing corner.
