Shakur, Gervonta, or Others: The Main Lightweight Boxer

On the Pro Box TV podcast, American trainer Teddy Atlas and former champion, now expert, Paulie Malignaggi discussed the best boxers in the lightweight division (up to 61.2 kg). On the night of July 7, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) will defend his title against Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs). Key facts and statistics about the fight can be found at this link.

Teddy Atlas considers Gervonta Davis to be the best fighter in the lightweight division and believes that "Tank" is the only one who can beat Shakur.

"Gervonta is the top of the lightweight division. Right now, he's at his peak and can do everything. Forget that he's a strong puncher; he's also a brilliant counterpuncher, sets traps, can use his legs when needed, is patient when needed, calculated, and sensible. Right now, he has a complete arsenal.

In my opinion, he's almost the only guy who can beat Shakur Stevenson right now. Shakur is so complex because of his style, abilities, eyes, legs, hand speed, how he controls distance. I think Davis is the only guy who can decode Stevenson. That's how good he is. That's why he's the top of the division.

Lomachenko has stayed a bit too long in boxing. It's hard to say if we're seeing his decline. You could have said that a few fights ago. But he always fights only against excellent boxers. So, it's hard to say if it's his decline. If he fought simpler opponents, we might say, 'Damn, he could have performed better.' But he fights top fighters, so it's hard to give a true assessment. And many people argue, thinking he won the fights where he was given losses.

Lomachenko fought Kambosos and looked amazing. After that, I'm even embarrassed to use the word 'decline.' But in that fight, it's hard to say how strong Lomachenko was or how weak Kambosos was. All we know is that Vasyl was brilliant. When Lomachenko turned pro, he said he wanted a title fight right after his debut. And he became a world champion in his third fight. He's an example of what a world champion should be – fighting the best. Wanting those fights, believing you are the best.

And Vasyl shows not only the best defense but also offense in the ring. Not many guys have both simultaneously. Lomachenko shows defense when destroying an opponent, tearing out his heart like a kung-fu fighter. And it's impossible to hit him while he's doing it. He completely outplays you physically and takes your soul in the fight," said Atlas.

Paulie Malignaggi is thrilled with Lomachenko and believes he could win a title in a lower division but wants to be in a more competitive environment. Nevertheless, the expert believes that the Ukrainian is too old, so he considers Shakur the best lightweight boxer.

"Probably the key thing with Lomachenko is his workload. It's hard to judge whether he's at a high level, having seen the fight with Kambosos, who after that win over Teofimo, has only won a few rounds in his fights. But Vasiliy showed an excellent performance against him. Lomachenko has an outstanding resume from amateurs to pros. At one time, he held three out of four lightweight titles, was close to being undisputed. But Lomachenko is more about nostalgia now. You just want to believe that he's still the same as before, that he still has it. Vasiliy could easily take a few titles in the super featherweight division now. But he wakes up every day not for easy fights. He loves competition very much. He may not be the best businessman, taking the toughest fights, even if they are not very profitable for him. And many other boxers don't do that. Lomachenko did incredible things, losing on the way to even greater achievements. He tests himself – moving up in weight, fighting the best boxers in their prime. He doesn't get the attention he deserves, but at the same time, we see guys who choose easier opponents, manipulating. Can Lomachenko now be the leader of the lightweight division at his age? We can only ask ourselves about this. Always wanting to fight the best should be the goal of every champion. Shakur has been criticized, but other boxers also don't really want to get in the ring with him because he's the biggest threat in the division. I consider him the best lightweight boxer, with all due respect to Gervonta. I'd like to see their fight. Its time has come, the fight has perfectly matured. Both fighters are at their peak. I hope we see it soon. Shakur challenges Gervonta, but he has worse off-ring behavior strategy than in the ring. Davis was silent about Lomachenko until he turned 37. So Shakur vs. Gervonta is the fight that needs to be organized," said Paul.

Recall that Gervonta Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) holds the WBA title, Shakur Stevenson holds the WBC belt, Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) is the WBO champion, and Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) holds the IBF.