Shakur Stevenson impressed once more last weekend as he sent out a warning to the 135lbs division with an impressive stoppage of Shuichiro Yoshina.
Now campaigning at a third weight class following the capture of world titles at featherweight and the weight class above, Stevenson has his eyes firmly set on lightweight glory.
In a stacked category featuring some of boxing’s best names including Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko, Stevenson is almost certain to test himself against a leading fighter at some point this year.
Barry Jones, one of boxing’s most respected observers, has heaped praise on the Newark star and compared him to one of boxing’s greatest ever fighters.
“He’s as close as we’ve seen to Floyd, since Floyd, and I don’t mean Floyd when he was having to adjust when he was a smaller guy, I mean Floyd at super-featherweight,” said Jones when speaking to iD Boxing.
“He knows where he is all the time in that ring, he’s never off balance and knows exactly when to throw the shot. He can also create the opportunity for his shots.
“He’s a guy who can do what he wants to do, when he wants to do it. He doesn’t take risks, he’s too good and he doesn’t need to. He’s just a joy to watch, the way he goes about his work.”