Zab Judah predicts that Shakur Stevenson is going to “dismantle” Teofimo Lopez when he moves up to 140 in early 2026 to battle him for his WBO light welterweight title.
The 47-year-old former five-division world champion Judah says Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) is going to “break him up” in his still yet to be signed battle against Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs). It’s still too early to know if the fight will happen or not, as it needs to be negotiated.
Shakur doesn’t possess the kind of power that will enable him to stand and trade like he was doing against William Zepeda last summer on July 12. He can’t do that against Teofimo without taking some big shots. He was essentially dropped in the third round by Zepeda in that fight, and he’s not the same puncher as Lopez.
“You Can’t Beat What You Can’t Hit”
“He’s going to dismantle him. With the style he possesses, he’s going to break him up. You can’t beat what you can’t hit. That boy [Shakir] ain’t nothing to f*** around with. He’s pulling away and hitting you. I love him,” said Zab Judah to MillCity Boxing, predicting that Shakur Stevenson will defeat Teofimo Lopez.
Shakur got hit a lot in his last three fights against these guys:
- William Zepeda
- Josh Padley
- Artem Harutyunyan
“I think what they’re doing is creating a superhero machine and showing the world that they do bigger s*** than regular guys do. They’re breaking records and astronomical numbers and doing this as a team. It’s huge,” said Judah about Shakur and his friend, Terence Crawford.
The breaking records part refers to Judah, 38, becoming the undisputed champion in a third division, like Crawford. However, the numbers for Bud’s fight against Canelo Alvarez were not astronomical, with 41 million viewers globally on Netflix.
They were far below the 108 million viewers of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson. Jake’s next fight against Gervonta Davis on November 14th will likely bring in more viewers on Netflix than the Canelo vs. Crawford fight as well.
I think they mad that they can’t stop me, U say u hate me but love to watch me 🗣️
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) October 5, 2025
Shakur has got it wrong. Fans on social media aren’t mad. They criticize him because they view his fighting style as “boring,” and they note that he’s not fought any elite opposition since he moved up to 135 in 2023.
Is This Shakur’s Cash-Out Fight?
It’s been all safe picks by him and his promoters, matching him against Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, Shuichiro Yoshino, and William Zepeda. There’s been no risk-taking by Shakur, and it’s understandable why he’s an undercard fighter. You can’t headline with his fighting style, and fighting weak opposition.
Stevenson is trying to hustle up a fight against Teofimo Lopez at 140 for his WBO title. That match is seen as a cash out for him, going after a big payday in a fight that he’s not likely to win.
Last Updated on 10/06/2025
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