Shakur Stevenson continued his tireless pursuit of a fight against Teofimo Lopez today, challenging him to face him next. It’s a fight that Shakur has been pushing for a while now, but he’s had no luck.
Shakur’s motive for calling out Teofimo is likely for ‘clout-chasing’ purposes to get attention on his career passively without having to risk his hide by actually fighting Teofimo. We’ve seen Stevenson play the same trick with his callouts of Gervonta Davis and Conor Benn.
Avoiding Elite Boxing Fights
Using these callouts to get attention on him without getting in the ring and facking elite-level fighters. He fights guys like Josh Padely, Artem Harutyunyan, and William Zepeda to ensure he keeps winning. It’s a good hustle. Fans are none the wiser.
Calling out Teofimo doesn’t make Stevenson’s problems at lightweight go away. He’s got four dangerous opponents that could bring him down to earth, exposing his defensive style.
Foxhole Plan: Shakur’s Avoidance
Fans view Shakur’s callout of Teofimo as a way to swerve his #1 contender, Andy Cruz, and the other dangerous fighters like Jadier Herrera. They see this as a foxhole for Stevenson to hide in to avoid the contenders on his doorstep, and it is much more risky for him than his last hand-picked opponent, William Zepeda.
I seen u say u wanna fight me @TeofimoLopez what’s stopping it from happening next and this ain’t no bluff let’s make boxing great again Lil Teo
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 25, 2025
Teofimo’s Power vs. Shakur’s Defense
Stevenson’s hit-and-don’t-get-hit style of fighting wouldn’t be effective against a fighter with Teofimo’s punching power. The only way he could win that fight is to depend on the judges giving him generous scoring, like we saw in his last fight against William Zepeda. In that fight, Shakur was outpunched by a colossal margin, yet the judges gave Zepeda no credit.