{"id":848775,"date":"2026-08-07T00:26:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T00:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/848775\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T00:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T00:26:17","slug":"shakur-stevenson-leaves-out-muhammad-ali-when-naming-the-5-greatest-fighters-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/848775\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson leaves out Muhammad Ali when naming the 5 greatest fighters of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Praised as one of the most intelligent fighters, Shakur Stevenson is fast-becoming a candidate for the position as pound-for-pound number one. Although, when it came to naming his top five fighters of all time, one of the best minds in boxing omitted Muhammad Ali<\/a> from his list.<\/p>\n

Stevenson became the third-youngest four-division world champion when he dominated Teofimo Lopez at the beginning of the year<\/a> to get his hands on the WBO super-lightweight world title, rising up the pound-for-pound ratings as a result.<\/p>\n

However, despite his skills, Stevenson seems to have a different outlook on boxing, going against the grain and refusing to place Muhammad Ali, deemed by many to be the greatest fighter of all time, into a list of his top five boxers in history, in an interview with ATS Boxing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that Ali was a great fighter, in all-time he is one of the greatest. I wouldn\u2019t have him in my top five but, all-time, he is one of the greatest. They think that I am trolling, but my top five is my opinion though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, Stevenson opted for three fighters who retired with an undefeated record in; Floyd Mayweather, who boasted a 50-0 record and conquered five weight divisions, Andre Ward, who hung up the gloves at the age of just 33 and never lost in his 32 bouts and finally, his good friend, Terence Crawford, who ruled as an undisputed champion in three divisions without suffering defeat.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Stevenson threw fan-favourite five-division ruler Sugar Ray Leonard into the mix, as well as Pernell Whitaker \u2013 credited as being one of the best defensive fighters of all time and someone that Mayweather compared Stevenson to<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop five, I\u2019mma say Floyd [Mayweather]. This is who I came up with, you [Andre Ward], \u2018Sweet Pea\u2019 [Pernell Whittaker], \u2018Bud\u2019 [Terence Crawford] and I like Sugar Ray Leonard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I watched in my era, that I came up on, see y\u2019all came up in a different kind of era.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevenson has recently signed with Zuffa Boxing and is expected to debut under Dana White\u2019s promotional outfit before the end of the year, with Jose \u2018El Rayo\u2019 Valenzuela being continuously linked to the Newark southpaw, despite the proposal being publicly refused<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n