James Toney Calls Out Shakur Stevenson: "What Has He Done?"

Shakur Stevenson is one of the most decorated fighters of his generation — 25-0, a four-division world champion, and the third-youngest man ever to hit that mark at 29 after outpointing Teofimo Lopez for the WBO super-lightweight belt in January. James Toney doesn't care. The former three-weight champ was asked to name his pound-for-pound number one and pointedly skipped right past Stevenson, landing instead on cruiserweight wrecking ball David Benavidez (32-0, 26 KO).

Pressed on why Stevenson missed the cut, Toney didn't soften it. He asked what Stevenson has actually done, argued that stacking up four divisions is far easier now than it was in his own era, and said that if Stevenson wants to be the top dog he needs to stop making excuses and fight the best men available. Toney name-checked himself, Roy Jones Jr and Marvin Hagler as the bar — then told Stevenson to back up the talk the way he always did.

It's classic Toney: blunt, a little mean, and not entirely wrong on the specifics. Stevenson hasn't fought since the Lopez win seven months ago, and his 11 knockouts across 25 bouts tell you plenty about a style built on outboxing rather than blowing people out. The knock has always been the opposition and the entertainment value, not the results.

The P4P Argument

Toney's pick is interesting on its own. Benavidez holds the WBO and WBC cruiserweight straps and is riding a perfect record after stopping Gilberto Ramírez in six. For most observers, though, the consensus P4P king right now is Naoya Inoue — 33-0 with 27 knockouts and a unified super-bantamweight champion who most recently outpointed Junto Nakatani. Toney went a different direction entirely, which tells you this was as much about aggression and matchmaking as it was about the ledger.

The good news for Stevenson is that the schedule may quiet some of it. He's signed with Zuffa Boxing and is expected to debut before the end of the year, with unbeaten IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla (24-0, 17 KO) floated as a possible opponent. Muratalla just edged Andy Cruz on the cards, and a fight between two undefeated titleholders would answer at least part of Toney's challenge.

That's the thing about the "who has he beaten" debate — it only ends one way. Stevenson can talk about his belts all he likes, but the fastest way to shut Toney up is to sign the toughest name on offer and win. A Muratalla booking would be a start.