Shakur Stevenson has given his verdict on the potential Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn title fight.
Shakur Stevenson (25-0, 11ko’s) rules at super-lightweight, and the man from Newark is keeping a close eye on everything at welterweight.
After his dominant points victory over Teofimo Lopez (22-2, 13ko’s) to become WBO and Ring Magazine champion, a certain Conor Benn (25-1, 14ko’s) was quick to face off with the pound for pound number 3.
That was in January, and it’s safe to say the landscape has drastically changed since.
Conor Benn is no longer with Matchroom Boxing, but his return to his natural weight has begun.
Saturday was the official start of this.
‘The Destroyer’ made a 150lbs catchweight ‘well’ in his own words.
98-92 across all three scorecards deemed Conor Benn a comfortable winner or Regis Prograis (30-4, 24ko’s), who retired immediately after.
Whilst the man from Essex did not get the stoppage he desired, he had to overcome heaps of pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
His sights are well and truly now set on Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20ko’s) and his WBC welterweight world champion.
Furthermore, he’s number one and mandatory, and it seems all roads are leading to a clash this summer.
Shakur Stevenson, who has publicly called to fight both of these, has shared his prediction.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Shakur stated:
“He [Benn] would rather have the Ryan Garcia fight because he believes he can win that fight”.
“I think Ryan beats him, but I think he thinks he can win”.
“It’s hard to say with Ryan, because Ryan is so wishy washy, it may be competitive, but Ryan is just a weird guy, especially if you bet on him”.
With the commercial juggernauts seemingly all at 147lbs, could we see Shakur move in weight once again.
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