Gary Russell Jr. has backed Shakur Stevenson to clean up the 135 lb division by beating Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis.
Stevenson made an electricfying debut in the lightweight division when he stopped Shuichiro Yoshino in the sixth round. And in doing so, Stevenson became the mandatory for Haney’s WBC title.
However, the undisputed champion’s future at lightweight is unclear, given that he is considering moving up to 140 lbs following his win over Vasiliy Lomachenko.
If Haney were to vacate his belts and move up to junior welterweight, then Stevenson and Lomachenko would have a shot at fighting for the vacated titles.
Meanwhile, Gervonta Davis is currently undergoing legal troubles after being incarcerated for breaking the terms of his house arrest in relation to a hit-and-run incident.
Therefore, the chances of Davis fighting Stevenson anytime soon are also slim. But if Haney or Davis were to face Shakur, Russell Jr. has backed the latter all the way.
“I feel he can fight better than any of them. He was one of the youngest that would come down there and get some sparring and put some work in. I can respect that.
“I think he’s better than Devin Haney, I think he’s better than Tank. I think he’d beat Tank, I think he’d beat all those dudes. I think he’s more put together,” Russell Jr.