Teofimo Lopez Questions Shakur Stevenson’s Confidence After Loss

Teofimo Lopez says Shakur Stevenson didn’t fully believe in himself during their January 31 fight, even as Stevenson controlled the action and left with a clear decision win.

Lopez lost his WBO light welterweight title to Stevenson by a 12-round unanimous decision, with Stevenson moving up from 135 pounds and dictating the pace through movement and defense.

From Teofimo’s point of view, the fight wasn’t just about skill, but how much a fighter commits to what he’s doing in the ring.

“I think Shakur is a great fighter. Do I think that he believes in himself wholly? No,” Teofimo said.

It is an interesting take, especially given how the fight played out. Stevenson controlled the pace and kept Teofimo from getting into any kind of rhythm, which is typically seen as a fighter being sure of what he’s doing in the ring.

From that angle, Teofimo’s comments point more to how he reads the fight now, rather than changing what happened over the twelve rounds.

Stevenson spent much of the fight controlling distance and limiting exchanges, rarely giving Teofimo the kind of openings that could change the tempo. It made for a measured fight, with Stevenson staying disciplined round by round.

“He knows how to create enough space to where he’s defensively where he needs to be,” Teofimo said.

The comments come three months after the loss, with Teofimo going back over how the fight played out and what he sees differently now.

In the moment, Stevenson’s style kept Teofimo from settling into a rhythm, and that showed as the rounds went on. Looking back, Teofimo is focusing on the approach he felt was there to be tested, even if it didn’t fully open up during the fight.

He also pointed to the kind of adjustments required against that style, suggesting that dealing with Stevenson means finding ways to push the fight out of its comfort zone.

“You just got to make it a dirty fight,” Teofimo said.