Shakur Stevenson proved his class to win the WBO super-lightweight world title on Saturday night and the American is already eyeing up a showdown with a man referred to as boxing’s ‘mini Mike Tyson’.
Stevenson dominated Teofimo Lopez in what was anticipated to be his toughest test to date, but ultimately proved to be as comfortable as the majority of his 25 victories thus far in his professional career.
As a result, the 28-year-old sits as the third-youngest four-division world champion of all time, after Oscar De La Hoya and Adrien Broner, and the Newark southpaw is finally beginning to receive the plaudits as one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound talents.
Stevenson is now considering his next decision, contemplating whether to return to the lightweight scene and attempt to unify the belts at 135lbs, or move up to welterweight for a showdown with Conor Benn and an eventual challenge for honours in a fifth weight class.
However, in an interview with Cigar Talk, Stevenson refused to rule out sticking around at super-lightweight, as he admitted his interest in a dust-up with Mexico’s WBC Interim champion Isaac Cruz, who is often compared to Mike Tyson due to his aggressive style.
“It’s about the guys that are most lucrative and the guys that are the most lucrative fights is the guys that I am going to fight.
“I see Pitbull [Isaac Cruz], Pitbull is a guy that is a name in the sport and, honestly, it’s a lot of casual fans that love Pitbull.
“So, most of his fanbase is the guys that are casuals and they believe that a guy like Pitbull would be the style to do something with me, but [he is] easy work.”
Cruz defended his WBC Interim title in a draw with Lamont Roach Jr. back in December, but the former WBA super-lightweight champion still sits below Alberto Puello in the pecking order for a shot at reigning WBC titleholder Dalton Smith.
