The Ring’s #1 Lightweight: Is Shakur Stevenson’s Throne Built on a Foundation of Subpar Opposition?

Shakur Stevenson gloated at the moment on social media about his #1 rating in The Ring’s prime 10 at light-weight, and dared fighters to “come get this struggle from me.”

(Credit score: Golden Boy)

Talking about his rise to #1 within the final three months, Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) says he “kicked the door down and took my #1 spot.” The victory that catapulted Shakur to #1 was his 12-round unanimous resolution win over William Zepeda on July 12, 2025.

A Manufactured Quantity One?

What Stevenson isn’t saying is that he achieved the highest spot within the Ring Rankings with out preventing any of those proficient lightweights: Andy Cruz, Floyd Schofield, Jadier Herrera, Raymond Muratalla, and Abdullah Mason.

Followers think about these fighters because the apex predators within the light-weight division and the primary threats to ending Shakur’s transient reign at 135. To date, Stevenson has managed to keep away from preventing any of those dominant predators.

Is that an accident that Shakur hasn’t fought any of them, or an indication that he’s a manufactured fighter made to look higher than he’s with the intelligent matchmaking performed by his promoters?

The Ring Prime 10 Light-weight Rankings

Shakur Stevenson
Gervonta Davis
Raymond Muratalla
William Zepeda
Andy Cruz
Floyd Schofield
Denys Berinchyk
Sam Noakes
Abdullah Mason
Lucas Bahdi

3 months in the past I used to be on the #3 spot once I knew I shouldn’t of been there.. Kicked the door down and took my #1 spot, Now inform any person come get this spot from me 😤 https://t.co/bVRZBlYiSs

— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) September 4, 2025

Rating on weak opposition

William Zepeda: W-UD 12
Josh Padley: W-TKO 9
Artem Harutyunyan: W-UD 12
Edwin De Los Santos: W-UD 12
Shuichiro Yoshino: W-TKO 6

I don’t imagine these victories are adequate for Shakur to be rated #1 within the Ring Journal’s rankings at light-weight. One can shoot holes via all 5 of these fighters, as they’re all flawed in their very own method.

Initially, Padley was a part-time boxer with a job as an electrician. He was introduced in in its place after Shakur’s initially scheduled opponent, Floyd Schofield, dropped out of the struggle with meals poisoning for the February 22, 2025, occasion.

Shuichiro Yoshino had by no means crushed any notable opposition on the time that Shakur fought him on April 8, 2023. Yoshino has since been knocked out by the prospect Siro Choi within the eighth spherical final April.

Artem Harutyunyan had been inactive for 1 yr and was coming off a 12-round unanimous resolution loss to Frank Martin on the time Stevenson fought him on July 6, 2024. Harutyunyan hasn’t fought since shedding to Shakur by a 12-round resolution. You may argue that that is one other part-time boxer that Stevenson had crushed at light-weight.

One of many higher fighters Shakur has confronted at 135, William Zepeda, wasn’t a giant puncher and fewer of a risk. Some followers on social media didn’t agree with the punch stats for the struggle, which confirmed Shakur outlanding Zepeda regardless of taking quite a few physique photographs in each spherical. Stevenson was pinned to the ropes nearly the whole struggle, attempting to dam incoming hearth from Zepeda on his gloves.

Stevenson-Zepeda Punch Stats

William Zepeda: 272 of 979 punches thrown for 28%
Shakur Stevenson: 295 of 565 photographs for 52%

The gem of the 5 that Shakur has fought at 135, Edwin De Los Santos, landed the tougher, cleaner photographs, but discovered himself on the receiving finish of a 12-round unanimous resolution on November 16, 2023.

Followers booed Stevenson at ringside for selecting to maneuver for the whole struggle. He solely landed 65 punches in the entire battle as a result of nonstop motion he used to evade the large punches from De Los Santos. It was a struggle that might have gone the opposite method, given the tougher photographs and the aggressiveness of Edwin. He was the one making the struggle together with his stress. The judges scored it 116-112, 115-113, and 116-112, all for Stevenson.