Tim Bradley is picking Shakur Stevenson to outbox Teofimo Lopez if their fight gets made for early 2026. Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs) agreed to fight Stevenson next January, but it still remains to be seen if he was serious, and if the fight can get negotiated.
Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) has been desperately calling out Lopez since shortly after his win over William Zepeda on July 12th. There are nothing but tough outs for him at 135 against Andy Cruz, Jadier Herrera, Raymond Muratalla, and Abdullah Mason. So, he’s focusing on flushing up some game at 140, targeting Teofimo for payday purposes.
The Price of a Teofimo Bout
“Do you know what feels even better? You agreeing to the fight. Now shut your p**** a** up and make it happen,” said Shakur Stevenson on X, responding to a post from Teofimo Lopez.
Shakur is going to have to put a sock in it because Teofimo isn’t going to agree to anything unless Turki Alalshikh comes up with the right price to make him want to sign for this fight. He’s not going to take this match just because he wants the fight. It’s got to make financial sense for Lopez.
It’ll need to pay better than his last fight against Arnold Barboza on May 2nd. That was $10 million, so you can imagine what Teofimo will want to fight a Jerry runner like Stevenson.
Tim Bradley’s Confidence in Shakur
”It’s a damn good fight for boxing. And at 140 pounds, too, ain’t nobody messing with Shakur Stevenson. I’m letting y’all know,” said Tim Bradley on his channel, praising Shakur Stevenson about a potential fight between him and Teofimo Lopez in 2026.
Bradley has drunk the Kool-Aid and is sold on Shakur after his win over the flat-footed, light-hitting William Zepeda. There’s a big difference between Zepeda and the highly athletic, huge puncher Teofimo. The way Stevenson fought against Zepeda, he won’t be able to do against Teo because he punches too hard.
Bradley’s Forecast for the Fight
“Y’all already know where I’m going. I’m going for Shakur Stevenson. I saw that little sparring footage they had. That was nothing. I don’t even know why they wasted their time putting that up. That was terrible. That was years ago. This is now. Shakur Stevenson, the master, the disaster. I got him. He’s going to beat Teofimo Lopez,” said Bradley.
If this fight gets made, Tim may end up regretting his first belief in Stevenson. He still hasn’t beaten anyone good for Bradley to have so much faith in him. Other than Zepeda, Shakur’s best win was against Edwin De Los Santos, and that was razor close.
Last Updated on 08/08/2025
Read the full article here
