An unbeaten pound-for-pound star believes he would “smoke” a prime Manny Pacquiao, but insists their fantasy fight only takes place with strict drugs testing.
As an eight-division world champion, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the Filipino reached his prime, though many would argue it was around the time he defeated Ricky Hatton.
Back then, in 2009, Pacquiao orchestrated a ruthless second-round finish in his only outing at 140lbs, before defeating the likes of Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley at 147lbs.
Prior to that, the formidable southpaw had secured victories over Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, making a sizable impression on the super-featherweight division.
It was at super-lightweight, though, where Pacquiao appeared to possess the perfect blend of speed and power, with his performance against Hatton offering a compelling piece of evidence.
Yet despite this, WBO world super-lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson believes he would have had Pacquiao’s number, telling SAY CHEESE! that their hypothetical fight would not be remotely competitive.
“I think I would smoke [prime] Pacquiao. I like him, but I [would] make sure he took them [drugs] tests.
“I [wouldn’t] fight him without making sure he was doing the tests. No cheating or nothing.”
Stevenson was campaigning at 135lbs when he delivered these comments, but has since dethroned Teofimo Lopez with a career-defining performance in January.
In doing so, the 28-year-old became a four-division world champion but, unlike Pacquiao, is still yet to test himself at 147lbs.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, is gearing up for a rematch with Floyd Mayweather on September 19, when the two legends will headline a Netflix event at the Sphere, Las Vegas.
Their first encounter saw Mayweather claim a unanimous decision victory in 2015, by which point many believed the two Hall of Famers were well past their primes.