“[Crawford] is the realest dude I met, his pick is his pick,” Shakur said on X. “I think [Garcia is going to] win. It’s all opinionated.”

The comments put Stevenson at odds with one of his closest friends and mentors, who believes Benn has what it takes to dethrone Garcia when they eventually meet.

Garcia would enter the matchup with momentum after winning the WBC welterweight title with a dominant unanimous decision over Mario Barrios in February. Benn, meanwhile, is coming off consecutive unanimous decision victories over Chris Eubank Jr. and Regis Prograis as he continues rebuilding his career following his return to the ring.

Although both Crawford and Stevenson offered different predictions, neither suggested the fight would be one-sided. Stevenson stressed that his view was simply a matter of opinion rather than a criticism of Crawford’s boxing judgment.

The proposed September 12 bout, however, still faces hurdles outside the ring. Golden Boy Promotions chairman Oscar De La Hoya has insisted Ryan Garcia cannot proceed without the company’s approval, saying existing promotional agreements and broadcast rights remain in place despite ongoing discussions involving Zuffa Boxing and Dana White.

Until those issues are resolved, Ryan versus Benn remains one of boxing’s biggest potential fights, with two of the sport’s leading pound-for-pound fighters already split on who leaves the ring with the WBC welterweight title.