The Old Sparring Clip Made Shakur Stevenson Believe a Teofimo Lopez Fight is Next

Teofimo Lopez’s posting of an old sparring clip has given Shakur Stevenson hope, making him believe there’s a chance of them fighting next. Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) has been hounding WBO 140-lb champion Teofimo for a fight since last Friday, saying, “Let’s get the paperwork going.”

Shakur’s Push for Lopez

Stevenson sounds completely desperate. It’s not about Shakur’s slogan, ‘Let’s make boxing great again.’ It’s more about him having run out of viable options for paydays at 135.

WBC lightweight champion Shakur finally seems to realize that Gervonta Davis won’t fight him, and he’s wasting his time with his tireless campaign to get him to agree to a match. With that big payday option not happening, Stevenson has turned his attention toward pushing Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs).

Shakur has to act quickly because Andy Cruz is now ranked #1 with the WBC, and it’s only a matter of time before the fight is ordered. That’s a contest that Shakur would not only lose, but potentially get knocked out by the 2020 Olympic gold medalist Cruz. That’s why Stevenson is urging Teo to fight him so bad. He’s running out of time.

“Teo posting that clip lowkey fire even though it ain’t show no punches being landed, but it just shows it’s gone be some high level s*** going on. S*** is kind of getting me excited, set the fight up!! Let’s do it 🔥👑 4 division champ s***. I’m down lmao,” said Shakur Stevenson on X, reacting to Teofimo Lopez posting an old sparring video clip on social media.

Is Lopez Serious?

There’s no way of knowing how serious Lopez is about fighting Shakur, because he’s chosen not to take big payday fights against Devin Haney and Keyshawn Davis in the past. He’s turned down fights that would have paid him more than what he would get fighting Stevenson.

It would be a good idea for Shakur to forget about Teofimo and focus on fighters from the lightweight division. If he feels that there’s no money fight for him now that Tank Davis is off the table, he should move up to 140 and fight Gary Antuanne Russell, Richardson Hitchins, or Subriel Matias. Shakur looks like a 147-pounder when he rehydrates for his fights at 135. So, he should have no problems fighting at 140.