Shakur Stevenson Picks Teofimo Lopez For A ‘Safer’ Belt Grab

Trainer Bernie Davis says the reason Shakur Stevenson chose Teofimo Lopez over Subriel Matias at 140 to chase the belt was because he wanted to fight a “big star”. He rates Lopez (22-1, 13 KO) as fitting the description of a “superstar.”

(Credit: Golden Boy)

Did Shakur play it safe at 140 years old?

Insiders suspect Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) has spotted the obvious weakness in Teofimo’s game, pointing to his losses to George Kambosos, and his controversial wins at 140 against Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.

Teo is viewed as the weakest of the champions at light welterweight by some fans. They view Shakur as creditable for choosing him over Mathias, Gary-Antoine Russell, and Richardson Hitchens.

“Shakur wants the best fights. He’s a sniper, a defensive wizard, and can you solve this puzzle?” Trainer Bernie Davis told MillCity Boxing about Shakur Stevenson. “This guy is unbeatable.”

If Stevenson wanted the best fighters, why did he choose not to fight Andy Cruz, Ernesto Mercado, Raymond Muratala, or Abdullah Mason, or reschedule the fight against Floyd Schofield? Shakur’s resume is modest.

Stevenson, a native of Newark, New Jersey, is certainly unbeatable. We saw in his last fight against William Zepeda and his match against Edwin de los Santos that he is very beatable. Many fans had him lose to both fighters. He escaped De Los Santos and was booed outside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a 12-round unanimous decision in November 2023.

They are the “star” at 140

“Matthias has already had a fight. They’ve got Teofimo attached. They’re the young boys,” Bernie said when asked why Shakur didn’t target WBA lightweight champion Subriel Mathias instead of the 140-year-old Teofimo. “They are young stars. It’s a battle of the stars. Shakur wants a Superstar fight.

If Shakur wants a superstar to artificially validate him, he’s picking the wrong fighter because Teofimo doesn’t meet the criteria to be labeled as such. Mathias did lose to Liam Barrow, but this is a fight he should have won if the referee had punished the Australian for constant pushing, grabbing and punching. Barrow used these three tactics to neutralize Mathias’ attack, and the referee did not lift a finger to award him points.

“He just beat Zepeda. that it [Stevenson] Star man. He needs a star fight. Teofimo also has a Ring Magazine championship. He also had an impressive win over Lomachenko. He had a great win over Josh Taylor. So, it’s a battle of the stars. Subril Mathias is not a star, Bernie said.

Perhaps a better argument for the real reason Shakur chose Teofimo over Mathias is that it’s a more winnable fight. Lopez has struggled since climbing to No. 140 in 2022 and was only saved from his career bottoming out due to his promoters at Top Rank supporting him through careful matchmaking.

General population test.

If they had put Teofimo in it General populationIt would explode and be ready for the trash heap. Fighters who could have sunk Lopez’s career now at 140″

• Gary Antoine Russell
• Richardson Hitchens
• Ernesto Mercado
• Keshawn Davis
• Subriel Mathias
• Alberto Puello

Shakur will likely lose to all or most of these fighters as well. He doesn’t have the ability to deal with this type of fighter, and he can barely beat William Zepeda. He doesn’t have the physical tools to beat the top fighters at 140 or 135.

In reality, Mathias is not a star, but Berpee using that as a reason to pick Shakur seems 100% disingenuous or, at the very least, ignorant. Teofimo is not a star either. He is a fighter who lost to George Kambosos Jr. and deserved to lose his fight against Jamin Ortiz on February 8, 2024.

The judges gave Lopez a unanimous decision in 12 rounds, but many boxing fans saw it as a blatant rip-off as the A-side fighter earned the victory over the lesser-known and less marketable man.

Written by Nation Vegas, a boxing analyst who has been covering world title fights since 2013.