Crawford certainly isn’t a neutral observer when it comes to Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) and Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs).

He's a big-brother figure to Stevenson and certainly wouldn't go against him, but envisions him cruising in the prospective clash with ease.

“I think Shakur wipes the floor with Ryan,” Crawford said on DAZN after Garcia beat Mario Barrios on Saturday. “I don't think Ryan is going to be able to hit Shakur like Barrios. Barrios was right there to be hit. Barrios was too slow and didn't have a gameplan. Barrios followed Ryan the whole fight. Shakur is not a fighter who gets hit. It's simple.

“I was actually surprised how Barrios looked. I thought he was going to do a little bit better. Ryan showed that he can box a little bit and got the job done in spectacular fashion.

“I definitely think Ryan is going to have a lot of confidence, but at the same time, it's different going up against a fighter like Shakur. It's different with Shakur, mentally, emotionally, physically.

“They’ve been in the ring together as amateurs, and Garcia didn’t beat him, so what makes him think he’s going to beat Shakur as a professional?”

Garcia claimed the WBC welterweight crown by dropping and beating Barrios via unanimous decision to headline “The Ring: High Stakes” show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Immediately afterward, he called out Stevenson, who agreed to a fight, provided if they moved forward with a 144-pound catchweight bout.

Stevenson, The Ring's No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter, became The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion after beating Teofimo Lopez last month during his divisional debut.

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan