“I think Shakur wipes the floor with Ryan,” Crawford said on DAZN. “I don’t think Ryan is going to hit Shakur the way Barrios can. Barrios was just there to be hit. Barrios was too slow and didn’t have a game plan. Barrios followed Ryan the whole fight. Shakur is not a fighter who gets hit. It’s simple.”
Crawford’s assessment was about translation. Barrios switched at mid-range and allowed Garcia to set his feet. He followed him and absorbed clean counters. Stevenson doesn’t fight like that. He controls distance with his forehand, 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 it as a bad comparison 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 moved forward at a catchweight of 144 pounds. Stevenson, undefeated 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 were 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 better 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,” Crawford said.
Even so, Crawford drew a clear line between beating Barrios and daring 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 match now carries public interest, but within Stevenson’s circle there seems to be little doubt. Crawford isn’t treating it as a 50-50 fight. He sees it as a style comparison, and according to him, Garcia’s offense doesn’t solve it.
