“I just don’t think like right now I’ll be fighting at 147,” said Shakur Stevenson to Boxing with Steph. “I feel like that’s going to come in the years to come. I feel like 47 will be my last weight class. Then I look at like a guy like Devin, they could act like, ‘Oh, well, when you get to 47, he might be going to 54.’ I don’t see it. Like, I don’t see it.”
Stevenson also downplayed recent talk about a fight with Devin Haney, saying the discussions never became serious negotiations.
“I feel like even with the talks, right, with the Devin Haney situation, I feel like the talks started from team Haney, but it never was a real negotiation or reach out, let’s talk about this, or it never was that kind of like thing,” said Stevenson. “But for me personally, I just feel like I’m willing to fight any and everybody.”
The Newark native repeatedly pointed to weight as the biggest obstacle.
“Fans want me to just move up fight after fight,” said Stevenson. “That was my first time ever at 140. You know why they want me to move up fight after fight? Because I’m that good.”
Shakur said that he still plans to campaign primarily at lightweight despite recently winning a world title at 140 against Lopez.
“I’m a 35-pounder,” said Stevenson. “I plan on fighting at 35. But I’m willing to fight anybody at 142.”
Shakur also hinted that money would play a major part in any future super-fight.
“These guys got to come to the table and say they want to fight and make it make sense,” Stevenson said.
Waiting on a move to welterweight could carry risk for Stevenson. He still has unbeaten younger fighters at lightweight and light welterweight that he has not faced yet, including Floyd Schofield, Andy Hiraoka, and Gary Antuanne Russell. Haney’s future at 147 also remains unclear after only two fights at welterweight, including wins over Brian Norman Jr. and Jose Ramirez.
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