Teofimo Lopez says it was a mistake on Oscar Valdez’s part in trying to land a left hook against Shakur Stevenson, which resulted in him getting dropped in the sixth round en route to losing a 12-round unanimous decision at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The former undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo gave Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) kudos for beating WBC super featherweight champion Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) by a masterclass to become a unified two-belt champion.
Stevenson utilized his height, reach, and jab to keep the shorter fighter Valdez at a distance where he was helpless to land his harder blows.
Still, Valdez found a way to land 110 shots on Stevenson, a career-high for a fighter against the 2016 Olympic silver medalist.
If Valdez had better foot & hand speed, he would have had better success at getting in close to land his big power shots.
As we saw in Stevenson’s loss to Cuban two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez, it takes a fighter with fast hands & feet and the ability to throw speedy combinations once inside.
Valdez was the opposite of Robeisy, and he couldn’t enjoy the same success as the talented Cuban fighter had against Shakur.
“Great performance; Shakur really did his thing. Both guys did a hell of a job and did a great camp. Congratulations to Canelo’s team, and congratulations to Shakur’s team. Tonight was Shakur Stevenson’s night,” said Teofimo Lopez to Fighthype, reacting to Shakur’s win over Oscar Valdez.
“Just off balance, but he got him still, and he caught him when he needed to,” said Teofimo about the sixth round knockdown Stevenson scored against Valdez. They both met at the same time, and he fell.
“The best man won tonight, and that was Shakur Stevenson. He did what he had to do and outboxed him,” said Teofimo.
“In July,” said Teofimo when asked when he plans on fighting again. “I want you guys to bite your names and stuff.
“We’re talking about [Josh] Taylor and stuff, but we keep that in the works. I want you guys to want me back and need me back. So we’re going to get it back,” said Teofimo.
If Teofimo is serious about fighting undisputed light welterweight champion Josh Taylor in his first fight back from his loss to George Kambosos Jr. last November, he could be asking for trouble.
“Once he sees a subtle movement, he’s gone, he’s out,” said Jamel Herring to Fight Hub TV about Shakur Stevenson following his win over Oscar Valdez last Saturday night.
“Oscar Valdez said Shakur wasn’t there in front of him, but he really stayed in front of him the whole night, but he basically controlled the distance.
“It’s respectable. I still got the scars here to prove it from the fight,” said Herring when asked what Stevenson’s power is like.
“He’s got power. He’s not the biggest puncher; he’ll tell you that himself, but it’s respectable power. You’ve got to give him his credit,” said Herring about Shakur’s power.
