Shakur Stevenson isn’t interested in fighter comparisons ahead of the biggest fight of his career this weekend. On Saturday night, the Newark native faces Oscar Valdez in a super-featherweight unification clash and victory is almost certain to propel him up boxing’s mythical P4P rankings.
Ahead of his battle with Valdez, Stevenson has faced observations from the boxing community that the fight has a similar look to Floyd Mayweather’s 2001 clash with Diego Corrales.
The legendary pair put their unbeaten records on the line in a bout that was decided by Mayweather's superior accuracy. Despite the huge praise, Stevenson is only interested in boosting his own profile.
“I’m not trying to sleep on nobody like I got it won without putting the work in,” said Stevenson when speaking to Boxing Scene.
“When I hear people say, [this is like Mayweather’s win against Diego Corrales] that’s like counting [Valdez] out. I’m not looking at it like that. I’ve still got a task in front of me.
“I think it’s a fight that is going to take me to the next level. Right now, this is the Shakur Stevenson era, and I’m Shakur Stevenson. I’m not Floyd Mayweather. Two different fighters, two different people, but I’m going to go in there and perform and beat him up.”