Turki Teases ‘Big May 2026 Fight’ for Shakur–Teo Winner

Turki Alalshikh called in today during the Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson press conference, saying that the winner of their bout will be involved in a big fight in May 2026.

A ‘Big Fight’ Promise With No Name Attached

Turki didn’t reveal who the fighter is, but the way he made it sound, it’s going to be a big name. That pretty much rules out every fighter at 140 because there are no popular light welterweight fighters the Shakur vs. Teofimo winner could fight. The PPV-level fighters are at 147.

The top 140-lb fighters:

• Keyshawn Davis – #1 WBO contender
• Subriel Matias – WBC champion
• Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz – WBC interim champion
• Richardson Hitchins – IBF champion
• Gary Antuanne Russell – WBA champion

Those are well-known fighters, but none would be big enough names for them to be considered fit Turki’s description of a “big fight” for the Lopez vs. Stevenson winner.

Big-Purse Blueprint: Canelo vs Crawford

If he wants to make the fight big by paying huge money as he did with the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight, that’s another thing.

Crawford wasn’t a huge PPV attraction, but Turki gave massive purses to him and Canelo for their fight last September. He put a lot of money into promoting the event. If he wants to do that with the winner of the Teofimo vs. Shakur fight for a May 2026 clash against a still-to-be-determined opponent, he can. 

Shakur Already Courting Conor Benn

Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) has already spoken to welterweight Conor Benn about moving up to 147 to face him next if he’s victorious against WBO 140-lb champion Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs) on January 31st, 2026. That’s what Stevenson wants.

If Teo wins, the fighters he would want would be different. He’s talked in the past about being interested in facing Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney.

“We’ve got this lightweight coming up to super coming over to dethrone the champ. This is why this fight is happening in early 2026,” said Teofimo Lopez during today’s kickoff press conference for his title defense against Shakur Stevenson in 2026.