Boxing legend Andre Ward has named one fight that he would love to see Shakur Stevenson be involved in.
The 28-year-old comes off a masterful performance against Teofimo Lopez last month, dropping just one round as he secured a dominant points victory at Madison Square Garden.
In doing so, Stevenson claimed the WBO super-lightweight title and became a four-division world champion, cementing himself as a top five pound-for-pound star.
As a result of his extraordinary talent, though, it seems that the American may struggle to find an opponent that can truly put his greatness to the test.
Due to him being stripped of his WBC title at 135lbs, his options have been somewhat limited, with any lightweight unification showdown with the likes of Abdullah Mason or Raymond Muratalla now off the table.
Alternatively, Stevenson has teased a potential move up to 147lbs, having called out Conor Benn after his victory over Lopez.
But while Benn could present him with a lucrative non-title fight, the slick southpaw’s toughest test at welterweight would likely come against Devin Haney.
‘The Dream’ claimed his WBO title, and became a three-weight world champion, after dethroning Brian Norman Jr with a one-sided points victory in November.
And so, with Haney representing the top dog at 147lbs, Hall of Famer Ward has told talkSPORT that he would love to see Stevenson challenge himself against the very best in that division.
“I’m hearing the Devin Haney [fight] getting tossed around; I think that’s an interesting matchup.
“You typically have a puncher, or a bruiser, or a brawler, [against] a boxer. [But with Haney-Stevenson] you’ve got two elite-level guys who do a lot of the same stuff, but it looks different.
“I would love to see that fight.”
One obstacle in the way of making the fight happen is Stevenson’s insistence that any man he faces at welterweight be subject to a 10lbs rehydration clause, something Haney may take issue with given his natural size.
