Bradley ranks Stevenson above Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue despite résumé debate
Tim Bradley says Shakur Stevenson is the best fighter in boxing, placing him ahead of Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue. Bradley made the call despite acknowledging Stevenson does not match their undisputed achievements.
Most pound-for-pound debates since Terence Crawford’s retirement have centered on Usyk and Inoue because both men own deeper resumes and undisputed success. Bradley went another way.
Bradley says Stevenson is the top man in the sport despite not matching the accomplishments of the other leading names.
“Shakur Stevenson is the best fighter in the world,” Bradley said on his channel. “He ain’t got the accolades of an Usyk, in terms of undisputed and all of that, he ain’t done all of that that Inoue did in the lower weight classes.
“No, he ain’t done none of that, but he is a four-division world champion, and he is the best fighter in the world. He gets touched the least out of any fighter in the world. He the best fighter in the world. Period.”
While Tim Bradley is focused on how many times Shakur gets touched, fans and analysts are looking at the threat level of the men trying to touch him.
Shakur’s recent win over Teofimo Lopez failed to prove he’s the best. He beat a flawed champion who struggled with consistency and was ripe for the picking by a southpaw as disciplined as Shakur.
To silence the critics, Shakur has a few specific litmus tests sitting right in front of him at 140.
Ernesto “Tito” Mercado
Gary Antuanne Russell
Keyshawn Davis
Shakur’s win over Teofimo was a technical masterclass, but it didn’t answer the warrior question. Beating a fighter like Teofimo, who many felt was already on the decline, is different than turning back a hungry, peak monster like Mercado or a high-IQ pressure cooker like Russell.
Until Shakur takes one of those dangerous assignments instead of looking for a big-money exit against someone like Conor Benn, Ryan Garcia, and Devin Haney, the P4P debate will remain exactly that: a debate.
If Shakur wants that top spot, he can’t keep feasting on the “Oscar Valdezes” of the world. He has to take the fights where he might actually get hurt. Until he stands across from a Gary Antuanne Russell or an Ernesto Mercado and proves he can dominate a man who isn’t afraid of him, Bradley’s take will continue to feel like hyperbole.
