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Will beating Teofimo Lopez be enough to get Shakur Stevenson into the P4P top five?

Published

7 months ago

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Image: Eddie Hearn's Determined Push for Shakur Stevenson vs. Gervonta Davis, Even as Stevenson Seems to Concede Defeat

Teofimo on 140

Lopez’s 140-pound titles came against Josh Taylor, who was coming off a questionable victory over Jack Catterall and has now lost three fights in a row. Teofimo narrowly defeated Taylor by a 12-round unanimous decision and didn’t look good in his last fight against Arnold Barboza Jr. in May last year.

Lopez did not show the same level of performance at welterweight as he did at 135, when he had a size advantage over his opponent.

“Choose this fight to challenge yourself. Dare to be great and I will do it. The only path to true greatness is to take high risks. These moments will turn me into a legend, let’s do it! #ShakurTeofimo,” Shakur Stevenson said on the show X about the title fight with Teofimo Lopez

“For me and my family, I want to eat forever. That’s for sure, there’s no doubt about it,” Shakur told Breadkfast Club 105.1 about the money he will receive for fighting Teofimo Lopez on January 31.

“I think it would take me to a whole different level,” Stevenson said of how a win over Teofimo would impact his career. “In this case, pound for pound after I beat Teo, you put me in the top five.”

What victory really means

Beating Teofimo wouldn’t take Shakur’s career to a “completely different level” in the true sense of the word. It would be superficial smoke and mirrorsfighting a guy who looks like a shell of the fighter he once was since moving up to 140 pounds.

Die-hard fans who follow the sport closely and scrutinize the competition like Nation Vegas does can easily spot that Lopez hasn’t been fighting at his best since coming up to welterweight. Turki Alalshikh would really do the fans a favor if he insisted that Shakur fight Gary Antuanne Russell or Subriel Matias. These two have 140-pound belts and are fighting at a high level.

“I feel Teo should be undisputed. The guy is talented and will be one of the best players on my CV,” Stevenson said of Lopez.

Shakur talks about how Teofimo defeated WBA/WBO/WBC Franchise Lightweight Champion Vasily Lomachenko in 2020 and was given no credit for being the undisputed champion. He did not win the regular WBC 135-pound belt, which was then held by Devin Haney.

Did Lopez slip?

It wouldn’t have mattered if Teofimo had gone undisputed five years ago. The reality is that he doesn’t look like the same fighter since moving up to 140 pounds in 2021. Lopez lost to George Kambosos, who was involved in two controversial decisions against Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin.

Better tests on 140

More importantly, Teofimo chose not to fight these high-level fighters for some reason:

  • Ernesto Mercado
  • Gary Antuanne Russell
  • Richardson Hitchins
  • Albert Puello
  • Subriel Mathias
  • Keyshawn Davis

That doesn’t make Shakur worthy of a top-five pound-for-pound ranking if he beats Teofimo. He didn’t show that he was one of the best in the welterweight division because he chose not to fight top fighters.

Lopez’s selection of Pedro Campa, Sandor Martin, Josh Taylor, Arnold Barboza Jr. and Steve Claggett suggests that he protected his career by facing lesser threats. If Shakur wants to be added to the P4P list, he should focus on fighting against the above list of untouchable players, starting with Ernesto Mercado. Let’s see how Shakur handles him.

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Boxing

Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshuas Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns

Published

12 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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"Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshua's Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns"

Oleksandr Usyk has shared his reaction to Anthony Joshua‘s dramatic knockout victory against Kristian Prenga.

Usyk nearly suffered his own shock defeat in May when he was pushed to the limit by kickboxing star Rico Verhoevenand two months on it was nrw teammate Joshua’s turn to come close to a massive upset loss that would have stunned the heavyweight division.

The Brit was dropped twice by massive underdog Prenga in the opening round of their clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, but ‘AJ’ managed to recover and record a big knockdown of his own in the second round that resulted in the stoppage victory.

Joshua and Usyk now train together, having famously had two battles for the unified world heavyweight title in 2021 and 2022, and the Ukrainian has had his say on his stablemate’s victory over Prenga.

Speaking to TalkSporttwo-time undisputed champion Usyk praised Joshua, insisting ‘AJ is back’ before predicting that Joshua will now claim a knockout win over long-term rival Tyson Fury in his next bout.

“Anthony Joshua is next undisputed champion. First round it’s a test but AJ is back.

It’s boxing, [the] big upper cut is good, it’s a knockdown. AJ [come] back and win.

“Greedy Belly [Fury] will speak now and say weak chin, Greedy Belly get out. AJ wins [against Fury], [he will] knock him out.”

Fury was victorious on Friday as he earned a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach in Thailand, paving the way for the showdown against Joshua later this year.

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Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshuas Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns

Published

13 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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"Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshua's Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns"

Jake Paul was the last man to fight Anthony Joshua and he has now revealed his verdict on AJ’s chaotic victory over Kristian Prenga.

Joshua went up against Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturdayin a clash that was expected to be a comfortable win for the former world heavyweight champion in order to set up the long overdue battle against Tyson Fury.

Any hopes of seeing that clash were nearly ended after AJ was dropped twice in the opening round of the bout, though he was able to recover and claim the second round knockout to come out on top and prevent a stunning shock upset from taking place.

Saturday’s outing saw Joshua back in the ring for the first time since his sixth round triumph over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul back in Decemberand now ‘The Problem Child’ himself has shared his reaction to his former rival’s victory over Prenga.

Posting on social mediaPaul praised AJ for earning the win, after returning to action following the tragic car crash he was involved in at the end of last year which took the lives of his two close friends.

“Happy for Joshua with that win after all he’s been through. Remembering Sina and Latz with this one.”

The win for Joshua should now tee up for meeting with Fury later this year, after ‘The Gypsy King’ held up his end of the bargain by also securing a win in his warm-up bout on Friday, securing a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach.

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Boxing

Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshuas Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Published

13 hours ago

on

July 25, 2026

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Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshua's Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Anthony Joshua may have earned a knockout win over Kristian Prenga but the fight certainly didn’t unfold as most people expected.

Joshua was facing the Albanian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and it looked like a massive upset could be on the cards when he was dropped twice in the opening round.

‘AJ’ was able to recover and went on to secure a second round knockout victory to prevent the shock lossseemingly paving the way for the battle against Tyson Fury later this year.

One man who was ringside to witness the battle was former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellewand he praised Joshua’s ability to turn things around in the fight after describing it as ‘chaos’.

“We predicted round two but I don’t think we foresaw that. That was chaos. He doesn’t see the uppercut coming and finds himself on the floor without knowing how he got there.

“The second one he did see it coming and he was able to clench down on the jaw. He got up and then the experience that he has he used tonight because he tied him up. Against Andy Ruiz he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t know how to do that, but tonight he did.

“He showed once again there is no quit. To be that hurt in the first round and get up, that’s the recoveries of power. People talk about your chin, but it’s not, it’s the level of fitness that gets you up from the floor.

“When Joshua gets a fighter hurt he’s the best finisher in the division. Whenever he hurts someone they’re gone. I haven’t seen him drop anybody and they survive, only Andy Ruiz. He’s a ruthless finisher.”

The clash between Joshua and Fury is now expected to be announced soon for later this year, after Fury won his own interim fight on Friday by defeating Mariusz Wach.

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