Before being forced to settle for a showdown against Shuichiro Yoshino, Shakur Stevenson did his best to lure one of the lightweight division’s more established stars into the ring, Isaac Cruz.
However, after making it painfully clear that Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) wasn’t in their immediate plans, the former Olympic silver medalist turned his attention elsewhere.
Initially, team Cruz remained mum on why they opted to go in another direction. But, after being bombarded with questions, team Cruz revealed that Stevenson’s defensive approach would lead to a boring fight. Having taken the time to soak in what team Cruz had to say about his overall style, Stevenson recently fired back at what he believes were erroneous claims.
“Pitbull don’t want no smoke,” said Stevenson on his Instagram Live. “I been right there in front of everybody. I don’t run.”
As Stevenson alluded to, he’s upped his aggression in recent years. Even when tasked with facing a bigger man in Yoshino, the former two-time world titlist planted his feet and snapped back the head of the Japanese product, resulting in a sixth-round stoppage victory.
Cruz, similarly, has been on a rampage in his own right. Following his close but clear defeat at the hands of Gervonta Davis, the Mexican native saw his stock soar. In his two latest appearances in the ring, he violently ended the night of both Yuriokis Gamboa and Eduardo Ramirez.
All in all, Stevenson’s need to face Cruz (24-2-1, 17 KOs) stemmed from his desire to have his championship wishes placated. Yet, with several of the division’s big names deciding against facing Stevenson, the 25-year-old slithered his way up the standings.
With a decisive victory placed safely in his back pocket, Stevenson has officially been pegged as the mandatory challenger for the winner of Devin Haney’s upcoming bout against Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20th.
Stevenson’s eyes, undoubtedly littered with gold, have made his feelings known that relieving the winner of their championship duties is number one on his agenda. Nevertheless, while he’s focused on his promising future, Stevenson took the time to revisit what could have been. Though a showdown against Cruz never came to fruition, Stevenson wholeheartedly believes that if the two were to swap fists, the highly ranked contender would have nothing in his arsenal to change the one-sided beating that was bound to occur.
“I would’ve beat the hell outta him. He too little. Little dude can’t do nothing with me.”