After the fight, an excited Devin Haney saw Shakur Stevenson staring at him in the ring. As the latter nodded, Haney pointed at himself, mentioning he was the number one. With disagreement, Stevenson responded that he was, but only for now! However, his unwavering confidence has strong backing. Long-time mentor, big brother Terence Crawford, stays convinced that a fight between the two will go Shakur’s way to the hilt.

After completing the business with Vasyl Lomachenko, Devin Haney openly mooted intentions of moving up to the 140 lbs weight class. Reportedly, he seems open to bouts with ‘Tank’ Davis and Shakur Stevenson. The Newark, New Jersey-born southpaw moved to 135 lbs. after ruling the roost in the Super Featherweight division. But unfortunately, missing weights during the bout against Robson Conceicao on September 23, cost him the world titles.

What did Terence Crawford have to say about Shakur Stevenson vs Devin Haney?

After the Haney-Lomachenko fight, while speaking to reporters, Crawford told FightHype, “Come one man, you already know. Ain’t nobody beating Shakur. I’m saying Shakur beat everybody. Shakur over everybody. That’s how it’s gonna be.” Reportedly, Shakur Stevenson and Terence Crawford’s connection goes to the days when the former marked his name as an outstanding amateur boxer.

According to a 2019 article in Los Angeles Times, Crawford, talking about his association with Stevenson, recalled, “This little dude came up to me talking stuff to me, talking about coming [at me] and telling me to come [to] watch him fight. I’m like, ‘Man, who is this little dude? I’ve got to go make sure we go watch.” According to the world champion, the connection was instant as the youngster’s boxing prowess impressed him.

Bob Arum of Top Rank, who used to promote Crawford and still takes care of Stevenson, had mentioned, “They’re good for each other. Shakur’s like the kid brother – he idolizes Terence, has a great sense of humor, and is always laughing. Terence gets a real kick out of him.” ‘Bud’ Crawford returned to those early days during the conversations at the ‘Million Dollaz Worth of Game’ podcast.

Episode 221 of the podcast appeared early morning today on YouTube, and the number of views is climbing. So after the one-hour mark, the trio moored the discussion on Shakur Stevenson. When asked, “Why did you say Shakur of today’s your number one? Give me the game on that.” Crawford replied, “Shakur, man he’s just so talented, you know, from the first day I seen that little dude.“

Then he continued how Stevenson approached and invited him to a tournament where he participated. Oozing with confidence, the young boxer told him that he would be winning outright. Crawford added, “So I [go] over there and I’m like I’m in the corner, you know I mean Devin was in that tournament too, you know, I mean I was like all right let me see what this little dude about, and he looked at me, and he was like give me that little nod. I was like, Goddamn, this little dude [is] cold. He whitewashed everybody, him and Devin…“

The host persisted and wanted him to choose between Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, and Shakur Stevenson. So while he admittedly acknowledged the devastating power of ‘Tank,’ Crawford once again urged that skill-wise and in terms of sheer ring IQ, neither Haney nor Davis can outclass Stevenson. On his part, fans might remember, during an interview with Brian Custer, Shakur Steveson also harked back to the days when he learned his lessons at the hands of ‘Bud’ Crawford.

Read More: “He Couldn’t Sell 5000 Tickets”: Mike Tyson Gives Terence Crawford a Grim Reality Check

With Davis, Haney, Lomachenko, Lopez, and Stevenson in the picture, who do you think is the ‘top dog’ of the lightweight division today? Do share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below.

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