“I think Shakur wipes the floor with Ryan,” Crawford said on DAZN. “I don’t think Ryan is going to be able to hit Shakur like Barrios. Barrios was right there to be hit. Barrios was too slow and didn’t have a gameplan. Barrios followed Ryan the whole fight. Shakur is not a fighter who gets hit. It’s simple.”
Crawford’s assessment was about translation. Barrios engaged at mid-range and allowed Garcia to set his feet. He followed him and absorbed clean counters. Stevenson doesn’t fight that way. He controls range with his lead hand, steps off after scoring, and forces opponents to reach. Against Teofimo Lopez last month, Stevenson won rounds through positioning and timing rather than extended exchanges. Crawford sees that as a bad equation for Garcia.
Garcia, now 25-2 with 20 knockouts, claimed the WBC welterweight title with the win over Barrios and immediately called out Stevenson. Stevenson agreed to the fight, provided it moves forward at a 144-pound catchweight. Stevenson, unbeaten through 25 fights with 11 stoppages, recently captured The Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles in his divisional debut. Crawford also pointed to history.
“They’ve been in the ring together as amateurs, and Garcia didn’t beat him, so what makes him think he’s going to beat Shakur as a professional?”
Garcia’s performance against Barrios showed patience and improved composure, something Crawford acknowledged.
“I was actually surprised how Barrios looked. I thought he was going to do a little bit better. Ryan showed that he can box a little bit and got the job done in spectacular fashion,” said Crawford.
Even so, Crawford drew a clear line between beating Barrios and facing Stevenson.
“I definitely think Ryan is going to have a lot of confidence, but at the same time, it’s different going up against a fighter like Shakur. It’s different with Shakur, mentally, emotionally, physically.”
The proposed matchup now carries public interest, but inside Stevenson’s circle, there appears to be little doubt. Crawford is not treating it as a 50-50 fight. He sees it as a style equation, and in his view, Garcia’s offense does not solve it.
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