The Crawford Succession: Tim Bradley Believes Shakur Stevenson Is the Next King of Boxing

Tim Bradley says he believes Shakur Stevenson is the guy who will step into Terence Crawford’s shoes to take his seat on the throne as the next greatest of all-time fighters.

(Credit: Golden Boy)

Is Shakur the Right Choice?

Bradley doesn’t say why he thinks WBC lightweight champion Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) will be the next star, because he didn’t show any signs of being that type of fighter in his last bout against William Zepeda on July 12. He took a lot of punishment, covering up on the ropes, throwing occasional punches, but taking a lot of hard hits to the body.

The former three-division world champion Stevenson hasn’t shown himself to be rugged enough to be the fighter that replaces Crawford. He can’t punch, and his main method of winning is to hit and run.

Can a Runner of a GOAT?

Shakur has a reputation for being a boring fighter and tends to run when facing opposition with punching power. Runners don’t become GOATS, and it’ll require a lot of careful matchmaking for Shakur to navigate around all the talented fighters that would beat him at 135.

While he has won three division world titles, his opposition has been less than the best. He’s like another Adrien Broner with how he’s glided through weight classes, beating vulnerable fighters to win titles. It’s very superficial.

The True Tests for Shakur

1. Andy Cruz
2. Floyd Schofield
3. Abdullah Mason
4. Raymond Muratalla
5. Jadier Herrera
6. Sam Noakes

The Unproven Heir to Crawford

“Who’s next to take over the throne when Crawford retires? I got an idea. His name is Shakur Stevenson. You heard it here first. Believe me or don’t believe me. Shakur Stevenson is going to be the next GOAT [greatest of all time] up on that throne,” said Tim Bradley on his channel, picking the unproven, carefully matched Shakur Stevenson to be the guy that steps into Terence Crawford’s shoes.

Bradley’s choice of Shakur to replace Crawford as the so-called “GOAT” is unrealistic, given how carefully matched he’s been since he moved up to 135 in 2023. To be seen as a star, a fighter has to fight the top guys in their weight class. Stevenson has failed to do that.

In Shakur’s two years since moving up to lightweight, these are the limited opposition he’s faced:

• William Zepeda
• Josh Padley
• Artem Harutyunyan
• Edwin De Los Santos
• Shuichiro Yoshino