Shakur Stevenson admits the pound-for-pound number one spot currently belongs to a different fighter, but firmly believes that he will soon become the sport’s flagship champion.
The 28-year-old became a four-division world champion in January, claiming his WBO super-lightweight title by dethroning Teofimo Lopez with a dominant unanimous decision victory.
As a result, many now consider Stevenson a top five pound-for-pound operator, capable of extending his supremacy at the highest level while steadily crafting a Hall of Fame career.
At the same time, though, it remains practically impossible to dispute Oleksandr Usyk’s position as the pound-for-pound number one, especially with him becoming a three-time, two-division undisputed champion and the fact that Terence Crawford has now retired.
The formidable Ukrainian secured his latest undisputed championship in July last year, scoring a fifth-round finish over Daniel Dubois to cement himself as the greatest heavyweight of this era.
With the 39-year-old having also claimed two points victories over Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua respectively, there is little scope to crown any other fighter the pound-for-pound king.
But even so, Usyk told Inside the Ring earlier this week that, following the retirement of Crawford in December, he now regards Stevenson as the finest fighter in boxing.
In response, Stevenson took to social media and set the record straight, insisting that Usyk thoroughly deserves his place at the top of the tree.
“You’re one of my [favourite] fighters in the sport right now champ. The number 1 spot belongs to you. My time is coming!”
You’re one of my fav fighters in the sport right now champ the number 1 spot belongs to you @usykaa 🦾 my time is coming! https://t.co/kQIreROu6R
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) March 10, 2026
Along with Usyk and Stevenson, two-division undisputed champion Naoya Inoue is also considered one of the greatest fighters in the sport today.
Should he defeat Junto Nakatani on May 2, the Japanese ‘Monster’ makes a good case to rival Usyk’s status.