Teofimo Lopez says he’s going to make it “ugly” against Shakur Stevenson when he faces him in early 2026. He states that he can’t make the fight “too technical” against Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) because it would result in a “chess match,” and there are “certain people” that don’t want to see those types of fights.
Riyadh Wants Action, Not Potshots
Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) didn’t mention who he’s referring to with his comment about “certain people” not wanting to see potshot fights, but he believes he’s referring to Turki Alalshikh. He’s already issued his no Tom and Jerry fights during his Riyadh Season events.
Shakur’s Style: The Mayweather Remix
The U.S public isn’t interested in watching the defensive style that Stevenson uses, which is a derivative of the old Floyd Mayweather Jr. approach. It worked for Floyd years ago, pre-Internet, but that approach no longer interests fans now that they have choices.
It also doesn’t make sense for Teofimo to fight Shakur’s style by trying to outbox him, as he would be playing into his hands.
“You Gotta Make It Ugly”
“I can’t be too technical with Shakur. You have to make it a little ugly. If you try to make it too technical with Shakur, it can be too long a chess match,” said Teofimo Lopez on Brian Custer’s YouTube site, talking about his possible fight against Shakur Stevenson in 2026.
Shakur had problems with the volume punching of his last opponent, William Zepeda, on July 12, as he was hit a lot. The fight was much closer than the judges’ scores, who gave it to Shakur by 118-110, 118-110, and 119-109.
Lopez will have to focus on power shots more and target Shakur’s head. Zepeda landed countless body shots, but the judges seemed to tune out those punches. If that’s how they’re going to score fights, it would be in Teo’s best interest to focus on going for a knockout of Stevenson.
“Certain people don’t want to see that. They don’t want to see pot shots. They want to see good action. I don’t think for me, I don’t see Shakur having the best defense. I can’t wait to show the flaws I see in Shakur Stevenson,” said Teofimo.
“He’s Slow — I’ll Show the Flaws”
“Shakur is really slow. I haven’t seen Shakur fight anyone higher than who he’s going to fight next, and that’s me,” said Lopez.
Teofimo makes a good point. Stevenson doesn’t have blazing hand speed. His speed is very average. His accuracy and the step back that he uses are what make him effective. Also, he hasn’t fought great opposition in any of the three divisions he’s fought in.
Stevenson has not shown interest in fighting guys like Andy Cruz, Abdullah Mason, Raymond Muratalla, or Ernesto Mercado. The fighters that he’s willing to face, Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and Edwin De Los Santos, weren’t great talents.
