4 hrs ago
3 min read
If Ryan Garcia can get past Mario Barrios on Saturday, there will be no shortage of options for whom he could face next.
The Ring and WBO 140-pound champion Shakur Stevenson is among them.
In an interview with The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, Garcia said he’d be willing to face Stevenson at a 144-pound catchweight. On the latest episode of "Inside the Ring", Stevenson responded to Garcia and said he would be more than willing to oblige.
“I love the fight,” Stevenson said. “I think that's perfect. I think it'll be a lot of excitement in that fight. It's a big money fight. Ryan Garcia is somebody who comes in there [and] you never know which version of him is going to show up. If the good version of him shows up, he gets spanked. If the bad version of him shows up, he gets spanked.”
On Saturday, Garcia (24-2, 20 KOs) faces Barrios (29-2-2, 18 KOs) for his WBC welterweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in the main event of “The Ring: High Stakes” on DAZN PPV. A win over Barrios, 30, would give Garcia his first world title.
“I know he's confident, so let's run it,” Garcia told Coppinger. “I just love something about fighting somebody people don't think I'm going to beat. It's like the Devin Heaney effect. With Shakur, they're going to think he’s going to spank me, blah, blah, blah. When I get in there, and I start hitting him, it's gonna be [different] because I'm not one of those fighters that don't have a quick eye. He knows that my eye is quick. That same eye twitch that Shakur has, [I have it too].”
Garcia, 27, said that he fought Stevenson in the amateurs and that he was robbed. The slick southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, said their amateur bout was easy for him.
Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) is coming off a masterful unanimous decision over Teofimo Lopez to win the The Ring and WBO titles on Jan. 31 in the main event of The Ring 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York. He rose to No. 3 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list after the win.
Stevenson outlanded Lopez 165 to 72 according to CompuBox, and held him to under five punches or fewer landed in seven of the 12 rounds.
Stevenson added that he’d be willing to fight at 135 or 140 pounds in his next fight. Among the opponents he’s open to facing is undefeated IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla (24-0, 17 KOs). Stevenson was critical of Muratalla’s win over Andy Cruz on Jan. 24, saying he took advantage of an inexperienced Cruz, who is an Olympic gold medalist for Cuba and was in just his seventh pro fight.
“Tell them to bring it across the desk, and I'll say yes,” Stevenson said of a potential bout against Muratalla. “Make sure the money is right. I feel bad for y'all, because it sounds like a good fight, but once you see the fight, you’re going to be like, ‘Oh my God, why did I want to watch this?’ This is not a competitive fight, but if that’s what you guys want to see, I’m down.”
DAZN will distribute “The Ring: High Stakes” to non-subscribers on pay-per-view for $69.99 in the United States and £24.99 in the United Kingdom. The show is included in DAZN’s Ultimate monthly plan for subscribers ($44.99; £24.99).
News
Shakur Stevenson

Next
Who wins Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Garcia, and what will it mean?
RELATED ARTICLES
Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua tragedy was 'turning point' for his comeback
Featured News

Mayweather-Tyson Exhibition Reset For April 25 In The Congo
Featured News

Who wins Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Garcia, and what will it mean?
Analysis

RELATED ARTICLES
Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua tragedy was 'turning point' for his comeback
Featured News

Mayweather-Tyson Exhibition Reset For April 25 In The Congo
Featured News

Who wins Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Garcia, and what will it mean?
Analysis

Can you beat Coppinger?
Lock in your fantasy picks on rising stars and title contenders for a shot at $100,000 and exclusive custom boxing merch.

Partners









































