New York, N.Y. – On January 31, Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez faced off for Lopez’s WBO World Super Lightweight Championship at Madison Square Garden.
Stevenson, the undefeated three-division champion, has now cemented his status as a champion in a fourth division, defeating the 22-1 boxer with ease in his 140-pound debut, winning 119-109 on all scorecards.
Stevenson put his foot on the gas and did not let go from the beginning. The opening rounds saw Lopez struggle to land any shots on the now 25-0 champion, as Stevenson was able to find the right counters and utilize his jab to perfection.
“I watched the tape. I also told my team before the fight, I said [they’re going to] say I got one of the best jabs in the world tonight,” said Shakur during the post-fight press conference. “Tonight, I went out there, and I just used my jab over and over, and made it a weapon, and he couldn’t stop it.”
Stevenson was also much more polished offensively than in previous fights, doing a great job of finding openings and landing combinations to start the bout.
Unfortunately for Lopez, the momentum did not shift for him in the middle rounds of the fight. Instead, Stevenson continued to control the ring at his own pace, even landing a huge left jab in the fourth round that nearly knocked the former champion down.
As the fight entered its later stages, a cut under Lopez’s eye began to open, which would continue to be a problem for the former king of the super lightweights throughout the matchup.
Lopez was unable to get anything built up in the first seven rounds, as the undefeated boxer was simply able to check his strikes and force him from being aggressive.
However, things changed for Lopez in the eighth round, as he began to find more openings than at the beginning of the fight which led to multiple noteworthy punches and combinations being landed.
Just as it seemed that the fight could be taking a turn, Stevenson began to make the ring his own once more. Rounds nine and 10 saw the seventh-ranked pound-for-pound boxer in the world reclaim control as Stevenson was able to land a numerous amount of powerful hooks and continue to jab to perfection.
The momentum remained with Stevenson throughout the championship rounds, putting his foot on the gas pedal from the first round all the way through the 12th.
The final scorecards read 119-109 for all three judges, crowning Stevenson as the new WBO World Super Lightweight Champion, doing so in just his first fight in the weight class.
Following the victory, Stevenson’s post-fight interview was interrupted by 24-1 British boxing star Conor Benn, who is coming off a major win over Chris Eubank Jr. Following an exchange of words, both Stevenson and Benn were seemingly interested in a welterweight bout against each other, though Stevenson revealed at the post-fight presser that he will only fight the weight-advantaged boxer under certain conditions.
“There’s a lot of people that will say that I’m too little for Conor Benn, and I can’t do it, so it makes for a tremendous fight,” said Shakur. “If he’s not gonna agree [to a rehydration clause], then we probably don’t fight. So, he’s just wasting time. We’ll see.”
Stevenson certainly seemed open to the idea of moving up to welterweight to take on Benn. However, he did not close the door on defending his super lightweight title instead.
Whichever direction Stevenson decides to take in his career, the 28-year-old continues to make history in each of his fights and has strengthened his case as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in boxing today.
