James Toney questions Shakur Stevenson’s pound-for-pound status

James Toney has dismissed Shakur Stevenson’s claim to a place among boxing’s pound-for-pound elite, arguing that the four-division champion has not tested himself against the strongest available opponents. Toney named David Benavidez as his choice for the sport’s leading fighter before ruling Stevenson out of consideration.

Toney’s criticism focuses on Stevenson’s opposition rather than his championship record. He believes Stevenson must face major names such as Devin Haney and Gervonta “Tank” Davis if he wants to establish himself as the sport’s leading fighter. Stevenson has not fought Haney, Davis, Ryan Garcia or Conor Benn.

Negotiations for possible bouts with Haney, Garcia and Benn were complicated by conditions sought by Stevenson. In discussions with Haney, Stevenson wanted the fight at a 144-pound catchweight and also wanted Haney to give up his WBO welterweight title. Catchweight demands were also part of the proposed Garcia and Benn matchups, but none of those contests took place.

Stevenson had shown interest in facing Lamont Roach Jr. when Roach was moving up from lightweight and appeared to be a more manageable opponent. That interest faded after William Zepeda produced a dominant performance against Roach. Stevenson later dominated Teofimo Lopez at 140 pounds, but Toney’s argument is that such victories have not replaced the need for fights with the division’s biggest names.

The former middleweight champion’s own career provides the basis for his comparison. Toney competed at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight. He won the IBF cruiserweight championship by defeating Vassiliy Jirov and later stopped Evander Holyfield without requiring the natural heavyweight to compete below his usual weight.

Toney has also previously criticised Stevenson’s cautious approach in the ring, although his latest objection is centred on opponent selection. His career involved taking on larger fighters at their own weight, while he views Stevenson’s proposed catchweights and other conditions as attempts to control the terms of bigger fights. That contrast explains why Toney has not been persuaded by Stevenson’s four-division title success.