Shakur Stevenson says that he is fighting Teofimo Lopez now, but he wants to make sure that his hands are “100%” when they meet. Their fight is directed until January or February 2026, provided that Stevenson has no other problem in the training camp.
Shakur (24-0, 11 KO) will escalate from 135 to challenge Teofimo (22-1, 13 KO) for its WBO Lightweight Wytreight. The featherlight title of WBC Stevenson will be suspended, as well as pretenders waiting for their title.
Shakur says that his justification for the fight against Lopez is becoming great. However, he did not do it in his career. There were no fights for a high risk of Stevenson, in which he entered, when the weaker expected he lost.
Prioritization “100%” of hand health
“I think that a smarter route is to make sure my hands are 100%. Teo is a guy like me,” said Shakur Stevenson to Dazn Boxing, asked if he would prefer to fight Teofimo Lopez than to wait until January or February 2026.
Don’t be surprised if this fight is postponed. Shakura may not go through a training camp without suffering injury as last year.
Shakur was to fight Joe Cordina in Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol Undercard on October 12, 2024 in Riyadh. However, Stevenson suffered a right injury and had to undergo surgery to fix the problem. Cordin’s fight was then canceled.
“He wants it. He doesn’t pretend. They want fame and all things that are associated with it, but they don’t want greatness. Teo is one of those guys who also want greatness,” Shakur said, saying that Lopez is similar to him, wanting to be a great warrior.
Like Shakur, Teofimo was selective in pursuit of greatness. He did not fight the best fighters from the 140-pound division, Gary Antuanne Russell, Richardson Hitchins, Subriel Matias, Alberto Puello and Keyshawn Davis.
Lopez likes to say “boxing again”, giving his vision of what he is trying to do with his career. But he doesn’t practice it in reality. This is only a line he throws out and then fights with opposition B and C.
Money for the legacy for both?
Shakur is not different. He talks about the desire to be great, and then decides to fight Josh Padley, William Zepeda and Artem Harutyunyan. Many fans believe that Shakur seeks to fight Lopez as only for money.
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