Shakur Stevenson is zigging when most are zagging.
Jared Anderson looked the part. He isn’t the largest heavyweight around but with his knockout power and overall skills, many in the boxing world considered him the division’s next big thing. This past Saturday night, however, some of those supporters believe that the reins need to be pulled in a bit.
Charles Martin, a transient former heavyweight champion, gave Anderson (15-0, 14 KOs) all he could handle before coming up short via lopsided decision. Baby steps have been tabbed as the pragmatic move for Anderson’s development. That could mean a ton of things. Maybe a few more eight-rounders against opponents just looking for a paycheck. Or possibly Anderson should take on a few fringe contenders with no hope of ever making the leap to the next level.
All of those options, according to Stevenson, are unacceptable. If the former Olympic silver medalist could pick anyone for Anderson to face next, Stevenson would choose the division’s top dog.
“I wanna see him fight Usyk,” said Stevenson to ThaBoxingVoice. “That’s the fight that I would like to see.”
In two short years, Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) has become arguably the best fighter in the world. Back-to-back wins over Anthony Joshua netted him the IBF, WBO, and WBA heavyweight titles. Now, in the second defense of his belts, Usyk will presumably take on Daniel Dubois.
Outside of Tyson Fury, Usyk is viewed as the best fighter that the heavyweight division has to offer. A showdown against Usyk could be a step way too steep for Anderson at this stage. For Stevenson though, he believes that his 23-year-old friend is ready to make it happen.
“I think Usyk is a great fighter. I think Jared has a lot of dog in him. I think it would be interesting to see boxer vs. dog. I think Jared’s dog is gonna come out on top.”