Who would win if Shakur Stevenson and Ryan Garcia go head to head? A few months ago, the answer would have easily been WBC lightweight champion Stevenson. However, since ‘King Ry’ dismantled former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney in April, that prediction seems to have changed, at least, for YouTuber and boxing commentator ShowBizz the Adult. 

Garcia is currently serving his year-long ban from boxing after testing positive for Ostarine after his fight against Haney, and will likely fight in 2025. On the other hand, Shakur Stevenson just signed with Matchroom Boxing and is about to enter the ring against Joe Cordina on October 12th. It’s unlikely they will ever meet in the ring anytime soon because of their natural weight difference, but that didn’t stop ShowBizz from arguing his point passionately. 

ShowBizz the Adult reveals how Shakur Stevenson can beat Ryan Garcia

In one of his YouTube videos, the boxing commentator argued, “I don’t know if Shakur is that much different [from] Devin. Somebody like Ryan would bomb away on Shakur.” ShowBizz suggests that if the Newark native can avoid getting caught by Garcia’s explosive power, Shakur will have to likely focus on being more technical and minimizing exchanges. 

He’ll aim to land his own shots when the opportunities arise while staying out of harm’s way as much as possible, according to the commentator. However, there’s a way to overcome Garcia’s overwhelming power and relentless attacks without taking those measures. The boxing commentator explained, “You got to beat them fundamentally and make him feel useless,” which ShowBizz feels is no easy task even for Stevenson. 

That is unless Stevenson can overpower Garcia and trash-talk him as Garcia did to Devin Haney and get inside his head. According to ShowBizz, that’s exactly what Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis did to Garcia when the duo fought back in 2023. Notably, Davis dropped Garcia in the second round and forced him to take a knee in the seventh after delivering a bone-crushing body shot. 

ShowBizz concluded that if Garcia, who likes to overwhelm his opponents, and Stevenson, who prefers to remain technical and elusive, face each other, it will be very difficult for Stevenson to get the upper hand. This was, in a way, evident before the Garcia vs. Haney fight as well. 

Stevenson’s prediction for the Garcia-Haney fight 

See, before Garcia and Haney met in the ring in April, Shakur Stevenson was confident Devin Haney would easily win the bout. He said, “It seems like [Ryan]’s more focused on selling the fight than actually working and making sure that he’s coming 100% ready for the fight. I don’t think it’s an act,” in FS1’s TMZ Sports Show. 

This means Garcia not only manipulated Haney during the fight—he had even Stevenson fooled. So, had it been Stevenson fighting Garcia that night, there’s a good possibility that the Newark native would have met the same fate as Devin. However, now that everyone is aware of Garcia’s tactics, the result of such a bout could be different.

Is it definitive that Stevenson’s defensive play won’t work against Garcia? No one can tell. Time and time again, Stevenson has proven he is one of the best defensive boxers in the game. It’s only if and when they fight that the reality of the situation will come to light. Regardless, who do you think would win?