Shakur Stevenson claims he’s going to give his close friend, Keyshawn Davis, the WBO light welterweight title after he defeats champion Teofimo Lopez.
A Title for a Friend
“That’ll be his belt,” said Shakur about the WBO title that he plans on giving to Keyshawn (13-0, 9 KOs) without him having to earn it.
Shakur can’t just give the WBO 140-lb title to Keyshawn if he captures it against Teofimo. The WBO title is not like a heirloom or a keepsake memento that Shakur can hand to Keyshawn to make him a world champion at light welterweight.
For that idea to work, Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) needs to negotiate the fight with Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) and figure out a way to defeat him. The approach that Stevenson used to defeat William Zepeda, fighting with his back against the ropes for 12 rounds, would be risky against a big puncher like Teofimo.
Reverting to his low punch output, hit-and-not-get-hit style would make it difficult for Shakur to win a decision, as Lopez would be landing the harder, cleaner shots.
Shakur’s Title Hand-Off Plan
“I’m going to beat Teo, get the title, and I’m going to vacate, and Keyshawn can get the belt. That’ll be his belt,” said Shakur Stevenson to TheDivineHook about his plans to help out his ‘Brother’ Keyshawn Davis win the WBO light welterweight belt without having to compete for it against champion Teofimo Lopez.
Davis would have to be given the #1 ranking with the WBO to position himself to fight for the title. Keyshawn petitioned the WBO on August 26, 2025, to install him as the #1 contender ahead of the current #1 Alfredo Santiago beneath light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez.
The WBO would open itself up to much criticism from fans if it were to grant Keyshawn’s petition, as he was stripped of his WBO lightweight title when he weighed in over the 135-lb limit at 139.3 for his title defense against Edwin De Los Santos on June 6, 2025. That fight was subsequently canceled due to Davis missing weight.
For the WBO to give Keyshawn the #1 ranking at 140 after being stripped, it would result in a backlash from fans. In my view, it would be a different story if Keyshawn had made weight and beaten De Los Santos. As the WBO lightweight champion, Davis would be in a better position to petition the sanctioning body to place him ahead of Santiago at #1 at 140.
“Teo says it’s happening every time I talk to him, but I don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes. I’m not sure,” said Stevenson when asked if his fight against Teofimo is happening. So, every time I talk to them, they say the fight hasn’t been made yet. We’ll see. I talked to Teo personally, and he said it’s going to happen, though.”
The Lamont Roach Alternative
Shakur said his backup plan if he can’t get the Lopez fight is to face super featherweight Lamont Roach Jr. He likes the idea of a technical boxing match against Roach at lightweight. Roach is coming off a controversial 12-round majority draw against WBA 135-lb champion Gervonta Davis on March 1, 2025.
“It’s only if Teo doesn’t accept the fight, though,” said Shakur on X about Roach being his Plan B if he can’t get the Teofimo contest.
If Stevenson can beat Roach convincingly, he would prove to fans that he’s better than Tank Davis without actually fighting him. It would be a shortcut method for Shakur to prove himself as the #1 guy at 135 by beating the 130-pounder Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs).
Avoiding the True Test
The proper way for Stevenson to prove that he’s the best at lightweight would be for him to run the gauntlet through these tough 135-pounders:
- Andy Cruz
- Raymond Muratalla
- Abdullah Mason
- Floyd Schofield
- Jadier Herrera
- Gervonta Davis
- Sam Noakes
Beating Roach won’t prove that Shakur is the best. It would be a superficial way for Shakur to claim that he’s the best at lightweight by defeating Lamont. Like in any sport, you can’t call yourself the best if you only beat one team and skip the other top ones.
While some fans will give Stevenson the #1 tag from a win over the finesse fighter Roach, the hardcore boxing fans that follow the sport will expect him to slog his way through the above list.