Derek Chisora gives honest assessment of Shakur Stevenson

On Saturday, January 31, at Madison Square Garden, Shakur Stevenson produced a dominating performance in defeating Teofimo Lopez by unanimous decision. The victory on DAZN Pay-Per-View made Stevenson the new Ring Magazine and WBO super lightweight champion. 

After that victory, many have praised Stevenson for his performance, and British heavyweight Derek Chisora has spoken to Fight Hub TV, praising Stevenson and putting him alongside the boxing greats.

Shakur Stevenson delivers MSG masterclass

Stevenson moved up in weight as the WBC lightweight champion to challenge Lopez for his lineal and WBO super lightweight titles.

It was a dominating performance from Stevenson, who controlled the tempo and distance throughout the fight. His domination was reflected in the scorecards, which saw all three judges score it 119-109 x3.

Stevenson got into his groove quickly, establishing his jab, which only became more dominant as the fight progressed. Lopez had no more than fleeting moments, but Stevenson never looked in any trouble. He boxed with poise throughout and looked a level above Lopez.

Derek Chisora praises Shakur Stevenson

Talking to Fight Hub TV, Chisora was full of praise for Stevenson:

“I think Shakur is amazing. My era was Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton, coming up. And then that era faded out, and then you had Devin Haney and all these other lighter weights, Shakur, Terence Crawford. 

“He’s good. There’s nothing else to say. He’s good. He’s good on all sides. When I say all sides, he’s got his beautiful wife, his beautiful baby girl. He don’t live a crazy lifestyle like half of these other athletes live. I believe he’s a family man. He does everything with his wife and kids,” said Chisora.

“I wish more fighters would follow him than follow anybody else,” added Chisora.

Where Shakur Stevenson goes from here remains to be seen. A move back to lightweight? Stay at super lightweight? Or could he even move to welterweight to win another world title? Whatever Stevenson decides, he belongs in the pound-for-pound greats conversation.