The most talked-about fight between WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson is now official for January 31, 2026, in New York at The Ring 6 event. Fans have been pushing the two fighters to announce this fight, and now it’s here.
Styles Make This Fight
Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) will move up one division in search of his fourth division title against Lopez. It’s going to be a style match-up: the pure boxer with the retro-Mayweather game, fighting the counter-puncher Teofimo.
“This fight between two huge talents will provide an exciting start to our plans for 2026, as we look to create another great year of boxing events around the world. We are looking forward to returning to New York in January and producing another big world title fight that fans have been waiting for,” said Turki Alalshikh.
“Make Boxing Great Again is my forte. Shakur will fall in nine,” said Teofimo.
Lopez was in fine form with his comment. The Brooklyn, New York native, Teofimo, is going to have a lot of pressure on him for this fight, as he is going to be defending his WBO light welterweight title in front of his hometown fans against Shakur. He needs a good effort to both entertain and come out victorious.
Will Shakur Stand and Trade?
It’s going to be interesting to see if Shakur will stand and fight as he did in his last fight against William Zepeda, or choose to move for 12 rounds. With this being an event put on by Turki Alalshikh, it’s important that Stevenson not make it dull for the fans by moving a lot.
“I have always chased the biggest fights in the sport because I know I am one of the best boxers in the world,” said Shakur. “Teofimo Lopez will learn that firsthand on January 31. I take over a fourth straight weight division.”
Stevenson is getting a little carried away with himself. He’s not “chased the biggest fights.” He’s ignored callouts from fighters like Andy Cruz at 135 and fighters at 140, like Ernesto Mercado. If he had fought the many fighters that had called him out over the years, we could have said he “chased” the fights. That’s not reality.