Unbeaten American speaks on details required to put together seismic clash.
Shakur Stevenson is one of the best fighters in all of boxing. If you didn’t think that before, maybe you did after his recent masterpiece of a performance over Teofimo Lopez.
That showing convinced many that Shakur will take the helm as pound-for-pound number one at some point in the near future. And while the mythical list really doesn’t mean anything, it is very feasible for Shakur to be universally viewed as the best boxer in the world in the next few years.
So dominant was his win over Teofimo Lopez that it was a borderline shutout. While Lopez has put in some less-than-stellar showings before, he’s never been made to look completely out of his depth.
Not until he fought Shakur, at least.
Making very good fighters look very bad is what great fighters do, and there doesn’t seem to be many people to even pose Shakur much of a challenge.
However, there is someone who happens to be the exception.
Devin Haney was last seen snatching the WBO welterweight title from Brian Norman Jr., surprising many after his previous fights with Ryan Garcia and Jose Ramirez.
Haney is the only person to challenge Shakur’s status as the most technically talented operator in American boxing. With the two just a division apart, it’s a fight that could certainly take place. And if it does, there is no doubt it will be a gargantuan pay-per-view affair.
In an interview with Stephen A. Smith, Shakur outlined the stipulations required for the potential all-American showdown.
“I think it could happen. I think it just gotta make sense”, said the current super-lightweight champion. “With Ryan Garcia, he just said he’ll come down to 144 pounds, so if he’ll [Haney] come do that and it makes sense, let’s do it.”
It’s not certain what belts would be on the line in that case, but a fight between Haney (a three-division champion) and Shakur (a four-division champion) is the type that would need no alphabet titles to sell it.
Shakur Stevenson says he is down to fight Devin Haney next but it would need to be at a catchweight of 144 pounds‼️
🎥 @stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/VtbEsdZNjk
— Source of Boxing (@Sourceofboxing) February 19, 2026
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