Despite wrongly predicting that he would lose to Conor Benn, Terence Crawford has named another fighter who he believes has the beating of Ryan Garcia.
The American made a successful first defence of his WBC title last weekend, dispatching Benn in two rounds after flooring his man with a crushing right hand.
While he was made a sizable pre-fight favourite, many were wondering which version of Garcia, who has been known to blow hot and cold, would turn up at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
He did, for instance, produce a lacklustre performance after returning from a year-long doping ban and losing on points to Rolando Romero in May 2025.
Given his world title triumph over Mario Barrios in February, though, there was equally a possibility that Garcia would prove to be levels above Benn.
As it happened, the 28-year-old did exactly that and has now positioned himself as one of the top operators at 147lbs, along with fellow champions Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez.
In terms of his toughest challenge, however, former pound-for-pound king Crawford has named Shakur Stevenson as the next man to beat Garcia.
Taking to social media, ‘Bud’ responded to the Californian’s post that “Shakur is a real one” and warned him that, if they ever lock horns, he would be in for a truly punishing night at the office.
“Shut that weak ass s**t up, you was just talking s**t. He still gone beat yo ass if y’all fight.”
Shut that weak ass shit up you was just talking shit. He still gone beat yo ass if yall fight.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) September 18, 2026
While we await the announcement of a date, location and opponent for his next outing, Stevenson has previously expressed his interest in facing Garcia but would likely insist on a catchweight of 144lbs.
