Teofimo Lopez Questions Shakur Stevenson’s Confidence After Loss

Lopez says Stevenson didn’t fully believe in himself despite controlling their fight and winning a clear decision

Teofimo Lopez has questioned Shakur Stevenson’s self-belief despite losing a clear decision to him in January. The former champion argued that Stevenson didn’t fully commit in the ring even while dictating the fight.

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.

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