Shakur Stevenson is still stubbornly holding out hope that Teofimo Lopez will take an interest in fighting him next. Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) says he’ll fight Lamont Roach if Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs) “doesn’t accept the fight” with him.
A Desperate Hope
Stevenson is waiting and hoping that Lopez will give the fight that he’s been asking for. It’s obvious to the fans and to this writer that it’s not happening. Lopez has no interest in fighting Shakur.
I’ve seen this a million times. When someone is not interested, they give you the silent treatment, just like Teofimo is doing with Shakur. Teo shouldn’t have led Stevenson on in the first place, giving him false hope by saying on X, “After I whoop on Shakur Stevenson and make him cry like the lil b**** he is .. I am calling out Ryan Garcia.”
Lamont was getting ready for the rematch so he gone have a in between fight and then fight me top of the year.. But it’s only if Teo doesn’t accept the fight tho https://t.co/yQR0EItWcO
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) August 21, 2025
Just that little trash-talking line from Teofimo was enough to get Shakur all anxious, making him believe that he was interested in fighting. Shakur took those words to heart, twisting them in his mind to think that it means ‘There’s a real chance.’ It’s pretty funny, but it’s revealing about Stevenson at the same time. It shows how desperate he’s become to get that payday against Lopez.
The Silent Treatment
Teofimo’s silence is a clear signal: ‘I’m not interested.’ I don’t know why Shakur can’t see the truth.
Initially, Lopez may have been interested in fighting Shakur, but after seeing how the judges handled William Zepeda, it had to have been a wake-up call to him. It doesn’t matter how many punches Teofimo lands; he’s not getting a decision against Shakur.
The Zepeda Warning
Zepeda buried Shakur with his high-volume punching in their fight on July 12th in Queens, outlanding him in every round of the fight. When it was over, Zepeda lost by a wide 12-round unanimous decision by these scores: 118-110, 118-110, and 119-109. Those scores looked like they belonged to an entirely different fight. I was at ringside and scored every round for Zepeda. It was a total mismatch. Shakur looked like a human pincushion, taking nonstop shots along the ropes for 12 rounds.
If Zepeda (32-1) couldn’t get a decision despite outlanding Shakur, Teofimo would stand no chance of winning other than by knockout; hence, the silent treatment from him. Can you blame Teo?
The problem with Shakur using Lamont Roach as his plan B is that it’s not a big enough fight to interest boxing fans, which means he won’t attract interest from Turki Alalshikh to pay gazillions. It’s a Jerry vs. Jerry type of fight. That’s a cup of poison for fans, and they’re not going to want anything to do with it.
Fights that will interest fans and get Turki amped up are Shakur fighting these guys:
- Andy Cruz
- Ernesto Mercado
- Gary Antuanne Russell
- Jadier Herrera
- Abdullah Mason
- Floyd Schofield
Last Updated on 08/21/2025
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