Shak Vs. Loma?
As fans know, the exceptionally talented Shakur Stevenson said goodbye to the 130 pound division in his last fight, this against Robson Conceicao, against whom Stevenson failed to make weight but went out and thoroughly outboxed in any case. Stevenson, who has won belts at both 126 and 130, is now gunning for the big names at 135, and the 25-year-old southpaw has former champ and pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko at the top of his hit list.
Speaking on The DAZN Boxing Show, Stevenson, 19-0(9) said he knows full well his team will “not sugar-coat me,” instead they have full belief that he is ready for the biggest and the best. And Lomachenko remains one of the best, most masterful boxers in the world today. Set to make his ring return next month, against Jamaine Ortiz, Loma wants to rule the world again, so the Ukrainian’s main target will be the winner of the Devin Haney-George Kambosos Jr rematch.
But Stevenson says he and Lomachenko should fight sooner rather than later.
“Lomachenko, I think me and Loma could be a big fight,” Stevenson said. “Make it happen in the next one or two fights, I’m ready. They [my team] know that I’m ready, they ain’t going to sugar-coat me, they ain’t going to take me on cakewalks, they know I’m ready.”
Stevenson has thus far in his pro career looked excellent, with zero apparent weaknesses or flaws in his game. Of course, a master like Lomachenko – known as “The Matrix” – is capable of exposing flaws and weaknesses in nay rival fighter’s game. But what a fascinating match-up Lomachenko-Stevenson really would be: the old (at age 34, Lomachenko might not have too long left at elite level) master against the new star. Who wins?
Stevenson believes he is destined to become a true great, while for some, Lomachenko, 16-2(11) has already achieved the status. The sheer level of skill, of boxing IQ, of brilliance on display in this fight, between two southpaws, would truly be something to behold. But again, who wins if these two do get it on?
