Shakur Stevenson says he’s going to show people that he’s the best fighter on the planet when he faces Teofimo Lopez in early 2026. The two fighters are in negotiations for a fight in January or February next year.
The Hustle for a Massive Payday
This is a fight that Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) instigated by calling out Lopez frequently since his win over William Zepeda on July 12. Shakur got a nice payday of $7 million, according to Sportster, for that fight.
The only way to ensure that his next fight was for equal or more was to hustle a match against Lopez. Stevenson wouldn’t have made the same money defending against his #1 WBC contender, Andy Cruz, and there’s a good chance he’d lose to him.
Two of the best vs. the best, and I’m going to come out victorious. I told y’all a long time ago. I’m the best fighter on the planet. I stand by that. Whenever we step in the ring, I’m going to show him,” said Shakur Stevenson to the media about his fight against Teofimo Lopez in 2026.
It would be interesting to know if Stevenson really believes he’s the “best fighter on the planet,” because he hasn’t proven it by fighting the best opposition. Based on the opposition Shakur has fought at 135, he has very little self-belief. These are the fighters he’s fought at lightweight:
- William Zepeda
- Josh Padley
- Artem Harutyunyan
- Edwin De Los Santos
- Shuichiro Yoshino
Can Shakur Handle a Big Puncher?
Stevenson is a good amateur-style fighter, but I believe he lacks the pop in his punches to go up against a big puncher without running from them all night. He’s only fought two big punchers in his career, De Los Santos and Jeremia Nakathilia, and he was on his bike constantly against them. He received a lot of boos.
Teofimo: “Why Are We Waiting So Long?”
“We should be announcing the fight very soon. I’ll fight out more details this week,” said Teofimo. “Let’s make the fight in January. Why are we waiting so long? We should fight already by the end of this year, but people got plans.”
It’s unclear who it favors more by stringing the fight out until February 2026. Stevenson fought on July 12 against the volume puncher William Zepeda and absorbed a lot of punishment to the body. You would have to assume that he would benefit more from a more prolonged delay than Lopez because of the 300+ punches Zepeda landed on him.
Shakur already said that he wants the fight with Lopez in 2026, because of his hand issues. He already had surgery on his right hand in 2024, and he’s been having problems since 2023, when he fought Edwin De Los Santos.
