Shakur Stevenson placed one man above Terence Crawford, labelling him as the ‘GOAT’, when asked to rank a selection of fighters.
The WBC lightweight titlist will collide with Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden in New York tonight, hoping to become a four-division world champion.
With notable victories over the likes of Oscar Valdez, Jamel Herring and William Zepeda, Stevenson is already considered by many to be a top 10 pound-for-pound star.
But of course, a victory over WBO super-lightweight champion Lopez would only elevate his position in the pound-for-pound conversation, perhaps even placing him among the likes of Dmitry Bivol and Jesse Rodriguez.
One man who has played a key role in Stevenson’s development is Crawford, who many considered to be the sport’s leading fighter before he retired last month.
As a former three-division undisputed champion, ‘Bud’ has not only been a long-time friend of Stevenson but, understandably, has also represented a source of inspiration.
In that sense, it could be considered somewhat surprising that the 28-year-old placed Pernell Whitaker above Crawford in a conversation regarding ‘GOAT’ status.
Speaking with Daily Mail Boxing, Stevenson gave Whitaker the top spot while placing Crawford in the slightly less glamourous ‘legend’ category.
When considering that Whitaker is often regarded as the greatest defensive technician of all time, though, it becomes slightly less surprising that Stevenson – a crafty operator himself – believes he just narrowly edges ‘Bud’.
Elsewhere on the list, Stevenson placed himself and Lopez alongside Julio Cesar Chavez and Aaron Pryor in the ‘great’ category, perhaps believing that they have already established themselves as pound-for-pound greats.
