Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia both took shots at Shakur Stevenson after Stevenson eeked out a win in his lightweight title fight versus Edwin De Los Santos. "Stop that scared narrative … nobody was ever scared of that bum!" Haney wrote on X. "Imagine going to this fight for Formula 1 weekend, I would ask for my money back and go straight to bed, that's how sleepy I'd be from being there," Garcia wrote on his own account. Both men have feuded with Stevenson over the course of 2023 and are each viewed as a future opponent for him.
However, even Stevenson was critical of his performance. "I had a bad performance tonight. That's all I'm really focused on. I wasn't feeling too good, so I'll live with it. It's OK. I didn't feel good before the fight. Honestly, I had already told myself that if I feel like this in the ring and if it's not going well, I'm going to make sure that I box and get the victory. I don't make excuses. It happens. We go through a lot as fighters," Stevenson told ESPN.
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What's Next For Stevenson?
Most pundits agree that Stevenson's next fight needs to be a show-stopper if he doesn't want his rise to plateau. Emanuel Navarrete could be a potential fight, with the 38-1-1 slugger being the offense-heavy fighter Stevenson needs. However, Navarrete was held to a draw in his own Thursday night bout, likely meaning he will be tied to a rematch against Robson Conceicao. There is also William Zepeda, the undefeated Golden Boy product who routinely throws 1000+ punches a night. Pitting Stevenson against such a volume-heavy fight would be the perfect TV spectacle.
Furthermore, Haney and Garcia still remain as potential foes. However, Haney is due to move to super lightweight to challenge Regis Prograis next month. Meanwhile, Garcia has been tapped for a bout against Oscar Duarte. Furthermore, Stevenson has likely lost the star power needed to book either of them for a fight until he is able to show that he can go toe to toe with someone at the highest levels of the sport in an entertaining fashion.
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