Shakur Stevenson mentions himself “the best fighter” in boxing as he asks fans to buy tickets for his fight against Teofimo Lopez.
The reaction to Shakur’s social media message was less than favorable. Many fans do not consider him “the best”. Some believe he is bad for the sport and don’t understand why Turki Alalshikh continues to promote him on Riyadh season cards.
Shakur is not exciting to watch for the average American fan, the same audience that buys PPV events in large numbers. His retro-Mayweather-esque style doesn’t belong in this era of the sport. What he is good at are these two things:
- Place on X
- Brag about himself
Those who oppose Stevenson getting a prime spot on Turki’s charts point out the inconsistency. Shakur has said in the past that he wants boxing to return to the glory days of Muhammad Ali, when the sport was mainstream in the US.
If the idea is to bring boxing back by putting it on regular network channels, talking about it everywhere and making it accessible again, building a dull fighter with a non-crowd-pleasing style is not the way to do it. Turki should load his cards with fighters who engage and entertain.
Most of what Shakur does well happens outside of the ring. It has nothing to do with the sport itself. He is more of a social media personality at this point. Similar to influencer box, just without the same appeal or personality.
“Buy tickets on January 31st. The best fighter in the sport is going to show up and show everybody why I’m the best. Teofimo Lopez, he’s just a guy that’s in my story. I can’t wait to show you,” Shakur Stevenson told Ring Magazineis encouraging fans on X to buy tickets for his fight against Teofimo Lopez.
These are the fighters Turki needs to include on his cards if he truly wants to bring boxing back to its glory days:
- Gary Antoine Russell
- Subriel Mathias
- Jaron Ennis
- David Benavidez
- David Morrell
- William Zepeda
- Andy Cruz
- Floyd Schofield
These are the fighters that get fans excited because they show up to entertain.
Fighters Turki need to stop building cards around
- Shakur Stevenson
- Devin Haney
- Terence Crawford
- Richardson Hitchins
Last updated on 13/12/2025
