Shakur Stevenson has no doubt in his mind as to who really deserves to be called the undisputed champion of the lightweight division.
Last Saturday night Devin Haney retained his four 135-pound titles with a unanimous decision over Ukraine's Vasiliy Lomachenko at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Haney, 24, overcame a surge from Lomachenko, 35, during the second half of their competitive affair to remain unbeaten with 30 wins (15 via knockout). Public reaction was divided, with some observers and fans insisting that Lomachenko deserved to have his hands raised.
Stevenson apparently shares that opinion as well.
Immediately after the fight, the ace southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, entered the ring and told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna that he believed Lomachenko “won that fight.” Leading into Saturday’s fight, Stevenson had predicted that Haney would essentially have his way with Lomachenko.
“Lomachenko should be undisputed champion here, he won,” Stevenson said. “He won that fight. He landed the cleaner punches. He landed the cleaner shots on Dev, and he pushed the pace.”
Stevenson, a two-division titlist who made his lightweight debut earlier this year, could be a shoo-in to face either Haney or Lomachenko in the near future. It is a realistic scenario given that all three fighters share the same promoter in Top Rank. However, Haney has hinted that he is looking to move up to 140 sooner rather than later.
Could Stevenson be angling for a fight with Lomachenko?
He intimated as much on his social media, saying that a fight with Lomachenko, rather than Haney, should be for “all the belts.”
“I would love that fight (with Lomachenko) too[. H]onestly feel it should be me vs him for undisputed,” Stevenson wrote on his Twitter account.
Stevenson then followed up with another tweet: “If Dev don’t stay at 35 and fight me I would love that fight (with Lomachenko) to show y’all I’m the truth.”
Sean Nam is the author of the forthcoming book Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.