Shakur Stevenson admits the pound-for-pound number one spot currently belongs to a different fighter, but firmly believes that he will soon become the sport\u2019s flagship champion.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old became a four-division world champion in January, claiming his WBO super-lightweight title by dethroning Teofimo Lopez with a dominant unanimous decision victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a result, many now consider Stevenson a top five pound-for-pound operator, capable of extending his supremacy at the highest level while steadily crafting a Hall of Fame career.<\/p>\n At the same time, though, it remains practically impossible to dispute Oleksandr Usyk\u2019s position as the pound-for-pound number one, especially with him becoming a three-time, two-division undisputed champion and the fact that Terence Crawford has now retired.<\/p>\n The formidable Ukrainian secured his latest undisputed championship in July last year, scoring a fifth-round finish over Daniel Dubois to cement himself as the greatest heavyweight of this era.<\/p>\n With the 39-year-old having also claimed two points victories over Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua respectively, there is little scope to crown any other fighter the pound-for-pound king.<\/p>\n But even so, Usyk told Inside the Ring earlier this week that, following the retirement of Crawford in December, he now regards Stevenson as the finest fighter in boxing<\/a>.<\/p>\n In response, Stevenson took to social media and set the record straight, insisting that Usyk thoroughly deserves his place at the top of the tree.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re one of my [favourite] fighters in the sport right now champ. The number 1 spot belongs to you. My time is coming!\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019re one of my fav fighters in the sport right now champ the number 1 spot belongs to you @usykaa<\/a> \ud83e\uddbe my time is coming! https:\/\/t.co\/kQIreROu6R<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) March 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Along with Usyk and Stevenson, two-division undisputed champion Naoya Inoue is also considered one of the greatest fighters in the sport today.<\/p>\n Should he defeat Junto Nakatani on May 2, the Japanese \u2018Monster\u2019 makes a good case to rival Usyk\u2019s status.<\/p>\n