Zab Judah has offered a few words of advice for Shakur Stevenson, warning him against making the same mistake that saw him lose to the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto.
The unbeaten southpaw became a four-division world champion in January, outpointing Teofimo Lopez with a terrifically dominant performance to claim his WBO super-lightweight title.
Prior to producing that career-defining display, though, many questioned whether Stevenson would be too small against a fully-fledged 140lb champion like Lopez.
As it happened, the slick technician was contending with a slight size disadvantage but allowed his extraordinary skills to shine through, dropping just one round on all three judges’ scorecards.
It is therefore worth considering whether the 28-year-old will ever be beaten and, if so, would it simply be a case of him facing a naturally bigger man?
According to Judah, who became an undisputed welterweight champion but felt undersized while competing at 147lbs, Stevenson should avoid becoming a victim of popular demand.
In other words, the former two-division world champion has told MillCity Boxing that the American would be most wise to stay at 140lbs.
“He has a small frame. At 140[lbs], Shakur’s going to shut s**t down. He’d be like how I was [at 147lbs]. I was competing with 147[lb fighters], but I was a small guy.
“Everybody was bigger than me. My set of skills [was] the only thing that could get me in there with those guys.
“Shakur got skills… But why give a disadvantage to yourself? Stay at 140[lbs] and become the f**king king. If he stays at 140, and chooses not to go up to 147, nobody can dispute that.”
Stevenson would, indeed, be putting himself at a size disadvantage against the likes of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, despite both world champions previously competing at lightweight.
And so, as Judah says, it would perhaps be best for him to remain at 140lbs, or even drop back down to 135lbs, for the time being.
