Shakur Stevenson: “Bud is the best fighter in boxing, if Canelo were at his weight, Bud would beat Canelo”

By: Hans Themistode

Depending on when you look, the number one spot on most pound balance lists will typically fluctuate between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

However, in Shakur Stevenson’s opinion, there should be no arguing between the two.

“Bud” [Terence Crawford] Stevenson said in an interview with BoxingInsider.com.

Alvarez, 31, seems to have cemented his position as the best boxer in the world after his recent run at 168 pounds. After stealing the light heavyweight belt from Sergey Kovalev in November 2019, Alvarez was relegated to super middleweight. When he arrived, he wasted no time stripping every belt holder of the title of champion.

The first for Alvarez, was a date with Callum Smith. He easily navigated around Smith’s height and gained the edge to score a unanimous decision from one side. Avni Yildirim was easily pushed aside in February 2020. Alvarez barely broke a sweat before stopping him in the third round.

After those two wins, Alvarez took no prisoners in matches against Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant. With all four super-middleweight titles currently in possession, Alvarez becomes the first undisputed 168-pound champion of all time.

While impressive, Crawford has also reached great heights. Most recently, the 34-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, became the first to stop Shawn Porter in their November 2021 game.

More than anything, Stevenson saw what Crawford was capable of closing and personal. Having spent a lot of time learning from Crawford and racking his brains in numerous training camps, Stevenson is in awe of his overall skill set.

The only way to officially end the debate between Alvarez and Crawford, is to pair the two in the ring. However, if they are separated by about 3-4 weight classes, a match between them is very unlikely. That said, Stevenson wants to play the hypothetical matchmaker.

In a perfect world, if Crawford were in or around the weight class with Alvarez, Stevenson would pay the most to see them off the table. And, more importantly, while he respects Alvarez and ranks him extremely high on his personal weight list, in his theoretical match, Stevenson sees Crawford at the top.

“If Canelo were at his weight, I’m telling you now, Bud would beat Canelo,” Stevenson continued to tell BoxingInsider.com. “Canelo is a really good fighter. I just feel like if he was in the ring with Bud, I think Bud would just ignore him. The best chance he has is for a puncher to try and knock Bud out. Other than that, I feel Bud is the better fighter for me. ”