Shakur Stevenson today believed on social media about his number 1 rankings in the top 10 of the ring on Lightweight, and dared to “fetch this battle from me”.
(Credit: Golden Boy)
Stevenson (24-0, 11 COs) talked about his rise to number 1 and said he “kicked off the door and took my number 1 place.” The victory that Shakur capulated to number 1 was his 12-round victory over William Zepeda on July 12, 2025.
A manufactured number one?
What Stevenson does not say is that he achieved the top position on the ring rankings without fighting any of these talented lightweights: Andy Cruz, Floyd Schofield, Jadier Herrera, Raymond Muratalla and Abdullah Mason.
Fans consider the fighters as the peak predators In the lightweight section and the most important threats to end Shakur’s short reign at 135. So far, Stevenson has succeeded in preventing him from fighting any of these dominant predators.
Is it an accident that Shakur has not fought any of them, or a sign that he is a made fighter to look better than he is with the smart match done by his promoters?
The ring top 10 lightweight rankings
- Shakur Stevenson
- Gevonta Davis
- Raymond Muratalla
- William Zepeda
- Andy cruz
- Floyd Schofield
- Denys Berinchyk
- Sam noakes
- Abdullah Mason
- Lucas Bahdi
3 months ago I was on the no. 3 -when I knew I shouldn’t be there. The door kicked off and taken my number 1 place now tell someone coming this place from me 😤 https://t.co/bvrzblyiss
– Shakur Stevenson (@shakurstevenson) September 4, 2025
Ranking on poor opposition
- William Zepeda: W -ud 12
- Josh Padley: W-TKO 9
- Artem Hartyunyan: W-Du 12
- Edwin de Los Santos: W-AD 12
- Shuichiro Yoshino: W-TKO 6
I do not believe that these victories are good enough for Shakur to be ranked on the lightweight on the Ring Magazine. One can shoot holes through all five fighters, because they are all flawed in their own way.
In the first place, Padley was a Part -time boxer with a job as an electrician. He was brought in as a substitute after Shakur’s originally scheduled opponent, Floyd Schofield, fell out of battle with food poisoning for the event on February 22, 2025.
Shuichiro Yoshino has never beaten a significant opposition when Shakur fought him on April 8, 2023. Yoshino has since been knocked out by the outlook in the eighth round in the eighth round.
Artem Harutyunyan was inactive for 1 year and came to Frank Martin for a 12-round decision loss when Stevenson fought him on July 6, 2024. Harutyunyan has not fought since he lost to Shakur by a decision from 12 countries. You may argue that this is another part -time boxer that has hit Stevenson on lightweight.
One of the better fighters facing Shakur at 135, William Zepeda, was not a big puncher and less threat. Some social media fans do not agree with the punch statistics for the struggle, showing that Shakur Zepeda has expanded, despite taking numerous body shots in each round. Stevenson is clipped to the ropes almost the entire fight and tries to block the incoming fire of Zepeda on his gloves.
Statistics.
- William Zepeda: 272 of 979 strokes thrown for 28%
- Shakur Stevenson: 295 of 565 shots for 52%
The jewel Of the five who fought Shakur at 135, Edwin de Los Santos landed the harder, cleaner shots, but he found himself unanimous decision on November 16, 2023 at the end of a 12-round decision.
Fans led Stevenson to Ringside because they chose to move for the whole battle. He landed only 65 strokes in the entire fight because of the uninterrupted movement he used to evade the big blows of De Los Santos. It was a fight that could have gone the other way around, given the more difficult shots and the aggressiveness of Edwin. He was the one who made the fight with his pressure. The judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112, all for Stevenson.
Last updated on 09/04/2025
