Shakur Stevenson predicts that his fight against Teofimo Lopez in 2026 will “sell tremendously” on PPV. He states that with their personalities and with the right promotion, they’ll do big numbers.
Making Boxing Great Again
It would be nice if Shakur could fight before the end of the year against one of the lightweight contenders to remain. That way, he can show how he’s improved and will be willing to exchange with Lopez rather than running.
“We both want to make boxing great again,” said Shakur Stevenson to The Arena about the status of a fight between him and Teofimo Lopez.
It would be a positive for the sport if Shakur and Teofimo began fighting the best after their fight in 2026. I have my doubts. Lopez hasn’t been taking risks since his loss to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021.
Predicting a Pay-Per-View Windfall
“I’m not losing to him. Come fight night, I’m going to show the world. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity my whole life. Me and Teo got big personalities. I think with the right backing and the right promotion, the fight is going to sell tremendously,” said Shakur.
Stevenson doesn’t say what he means when he talks about “waiting for this opportunity.” He has plenty of opportunities for risky fights at lightweight against fighters that are equally as good, if not better than Teofimo.
Shakur is just not fighting them, but they’re there at 135. I think what Stevenson means is he’s been waiting for a big payday like the one a fight against Lopez will bring in for him. There’s a lot of money that Stevenson can make. Talent-wise, some lightweights are more skilled than Lopez, in my opinion. There’s Andy Cruz, Abdullah Mason, Floyd Schofield, and Raymond Muratalla.
It doesn’t look good for Stevenson. He’s outgunned in this fight against Lopez, and he could be heading for his first defeat since Robeisy Ramirez beat him in the 2016 Olympics.
Cuba’s Robeisy had Shakur in tears, crying nonstop during the interview afterward. He was crying, but there were no tears. It was really weird-looking, like watching a bad actor during a movie. Stevenson took the high road, not to call it a robbery, which would have made him look worse.
An Outgunned Stevenson?
Teofimo has several advantages over Shakur that will make it difficult for him to win. These are the advantages:
- Handspeed
- Power
- Agressiveness
- Bravery
If Turki Alalshikh is the one financing and promoting the Teofimo vs. Shakur event through The Ring, it may do decent numbers on DAZN PPV. It’s not a big enough fight for Netflix to pick up.
Stevenson is still a popular fighter, and the reason for that is apparent. He’s a runner, and he’s not going to change that style unless he’s facing fighters that lack pop in their punches. We saw Shakur fighting in the pocket against the light hitters William Zepeda, Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and Shuichiro Yoshino.
Last Updated on 09/19/2025
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