Now this is a mix-up Shakur Stevenson wouldn’t have wished for. The lightweight champion is all set to face Floyd Schofield. Ahead of the duel on ‘The Last Crescendo,’ the Newark native seems to have found himself in a quandary. Perhaps this is what happens when one plunges deep in the ‘Battle of The Tysons.’
The Ring Magazine shared a short clip. It featured Shakur Stevenson ranking some of the greatest fighters of all time in a top-10 order. To set the context straight, Stevenson did not pick a name and then place it accordingly. Rather, a name popped up, and the champion had to put it in the order he deemed best suited. So far, so good. But the problem ensued when he decided the fate of the two ‘Tysons’ – Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury. Needless to say, the attempt drew some scathing critique from fans and followers.
Shakur Stevenson: The top ten you’ve been waiting for!
“Shakur Stevenson’s blind rankings of boxing’s top-10 greatest fighters,” read the Ring Magazine tweet. The very first name that cropped up was that of Tyson Fury. “Six,” said Shakur Stevenson. ‘The Gypsy King’s conqueror, Oleksandr Usyk, received the fifth position.
Julio Cesar Chavez‘s name appeared. To Stevenson, the Mexican legend deserved the tenth slot. While ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard occupied the third rank, Manny Pacquiao took over the eighth place. Now the top two, fourth, seventh, and ninth positions were empty.
At the 7th place, a level below Fury, Mike Tyson joined. For the first rank, Stevenson picked Floyd Mayweather Jr. The great ‘Brown Bomber’ Joe Louis was conferred the fourth, while ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali were the second and ninth greatest fighters of all time.
Aside from the few concerns over Ali and Pacquiao’s rank, many found Tyson Fury’s position hard to swallow. Let’s check what a few of the users had to say.
That said, let’s untangle the ‘Tyson’ confusion
But for Tyson Fury, this fan had no problem whatsoever with Stevenson’s listing. They said, “Perfect top 2.👌🏾Solid top 3. 🙌🏾 Remove Fury from the list, and not bad overall as well. 🤷🏾♂️.” The discourse over Fury’s legacy has been going on for some time. Especially the two consecutive defeats seem to have marred what was otherwise an outstanding boxing career.
Another one echoed similar sentiments. “Fury isn’t on any top 10 anything list,” said this fan. One thing is clear. The sport doesn’t favor anyone. You might be a champion with an unbeaten run. But one defeat and questions over your legacy will start cropping up.
If one goes by the next user’s views, then ‘The Gypsy King’ won’t appear even in the top 20 list. This is what they said: “Fury isn’t even in the top 20. Laughable.” But jokes apart, did the Usyk defeat change the landscape to such an extent that Fury’s contribution can be overlooked with ease?
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