Tim Bradley believes that Shakur Stevenson is the next big star in the sport. He expects Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) to dethrone WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez in early 2026, and then face Ryan Garcia to make “a lot of money.”
Tim says that it doesn’t matter that Shakur has no power and is purely a defensive fighter. He believes his style is perfect for him to become the next superstar, now that Terence Crawford is nearing retirement following his career-best win over Canelo Alvarez last month.
Turki’s Spotlight on Shakur
Thus far, Stevenson’s style of fighting, which is an amateur point-scoring approach, hasn’t resonated with the fans. Turki Alalshikh has given him a chance to be seen on a couple of his Riyadh Season cards against Josh Padley and William Zepeda.
Shakur has been saved from the guillotine by not being forced to fight against these talented lightweights:
- Andy Cruz
- Jadier Herera
- Floyd Schofield
- Abdullah Mason
Turki could have put Stevenson’s feet to the fire by insisting that he fight one of those guys rather than letting him feast on the part-time boxer Josh Padley and Zepeda.
That’s what has kept him going up to now. However, Stevenson is about to fight Teofimo at 140, and that could be the beginning of the end for him in getting potentially knocked out or badly beaten by Teofimo.
Bradley’s Prediction
“Shakur is going to be the next one up. You may not think he punches hard enough, but that’s not boxing,” said Tim Bradley on his channel, circling his wagons around Shakur Stevenson ahead of his fight in 2026 against Teofimo Lopez.
“Shakur embarrasses fighters. He takes everything away from you. He’s going to have your trainer frustrated in the corner. If you beat him [Teofimo Lopez], I see a throwdown with Ryan Garcia. He brings a lot of money. You fight Teo, and then you can fight Ryan. You can meet him at 144,” said Bradley.
Tim isn’t saying which fighter Shakur embarrassed at 135. He didn’t embarrass any of his last four opponents, William Zepeda, Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and Edwin De Los Santos. The last fighter that Stevenson made look bad was Shuichiro Yoshino in April 2023, but that was a lower-tier fighter at 135.
Nation Vegas’ Take: The Lopez Reality Check
Yoshino didn’t belong being ranked in the top 15, and if you look at the rankings now, he’s nowhere to be seen. The sanctioning bodies made a mistake ranking him in the top tier in the first place. So, it’s not a big deal that Shakur embarrassed him because he wasn’t world-class.
If Stevenson is going to keep fighting outside of the 135-lb division, he needs to vacate his WBC lightweight title because that would be his second consecutive fight if he faces Ryan Garcia after he challenges Teofimo Lopez in early 2026. Shakur can’t call himself the best fighter at lightweight if he’s fighting at 140 or 144.
The Zepeda Scare Exposed
Tim is assuming that Shakur is going to defeat Teofimo, and that may not happen. If you saw how Stevenson struggled against the volume puncher William Zepeda earlier this year on July 12, you’d have to look at Lopez as the favorite against him.
Shakur was arguably dropped in the third round by Zepeda, but the referee blew the call by failing to rule it a knockdown. Besides that, he took a lot of shots from the Mexican volume puncher and looked beat up after the fight.
Written by Nation Vegas, Boxing Analyst covering world title fights since 2013.
Last Updated on 10/01/2025
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