Eddie Hearn couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Although he thoroughly enjoys promoting some of the biggest events in the sport of boxing, on April 22nd, he played the role of a fan.

On the night, both Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis engaged in a seat-clenching clash. Prior to swapping fists in the center of the ring, countless prognosticators were under the assumption that Garcia would present the Baltimore native with a bevy of issues.

Of course, two knockdowns later, and those pundits were proven wrong. As Davis stood demonstratively on the top turnbuckle, Hearn applauded the 28-year-old’s effort.

In the grand scheme of things, Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) has now boastfully claimed that not only is he the face of boxing but despite not holding a legitimate world title, he’s the man to beat in the lightweight division.

Having heard his declaration, Hearn is forced to disagree with the well-established star. When asked who amongst a long list of elite-level fighters should be considered the division’s top dog, Hearn dropped an unambiguous answer.  

“I think Shakur Stevenson is,” said Hearn to Fight Hub TV. “He’s the best fighter. He beats them all.”

Stevenson, 25, made his lightweight presence known following two successful championship runs in lower weight classes. On April 8th, earlier this year, the former Olympic silver medalist made it look incredibly easy against Shuichiro Yoshino, stopping his man in the sixth round of his 135-pound debut.

In doing so, Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) now holds the mandatory challenger position in the WBC sanctioning body. As he’s done on countless occasions, Stevenson will directly play the waiting game. In just a few short weeks, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Devin Haney, the division’s reigning undisputed champion, will square off in a winner take all showdown.

Well before Stevenson decided to make the lightweight division his home, Hearn, who’s held an open and close relationship with Haney, once viewed the 24-year-old as practically unbeatable. Now, with Stevenson placing all of his skills on display, Hearn is singing an entirely different tune.

“He’s a fantastic fighter. Listen, Devin is my friend. I think Devin against Shakur is a great fight, as is Tank but I don’t think anyone beats Shakur Stevenson. I would bet Shakur Stevenson every time over those guys.”