LOPEZ VS STEVENSON TIPS: GLORY BECKONS AT THE GARDEN
Boxing heads to Madison Square Garden at the weekend as the unbeaten Shakur Stevenson challenges Teofimo Lopez for the WBO light-welterweight world title.
Stevenson, a silver medal winner at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, has put together a 24-0 record as a professional and has 11 stoppages.
Like the challenger, Lopez has a strong amateur pedigree and he also competed in the 2016 Olympics. Lopez is 22-1 and on a six-fight winning streak, with 13 of his victories coming inside the distance.
Lopez is a two-weight world champion and is making the fourth defence of his WBO belt, while Stevenson is bidding to become a four-weight world champion.
This is essentially a hometown fight for both men, with Lopez hailing from Brooklyn and Stevenson from nearby Newark in New Jersey.
Tip 1 – Stevenson to win @ 8/25
Despite being the defending champion, Lopez enters the bout as a 49/20 underdog and Stevenson is the 8/25 favourite.
This contest is likely to be closer than those odds suggest but, ultimately, Stevenson has the skill to get the job done as he steps up another weight class.
This may be Stevenson’s first fight at junior welterweight and he’s taking on a man who may well be the best in the division. Lopez is ranked as the top fighter at the 140lbs mark by Ring Magazine but he is a bit of an enigma.
The Takeover claimed what still ranks as a career-best win, and performance, back in 2020 as he outpointed legendary Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko to become a unified lightweight champion but he followed that up with a limp performance and a defeat to George Kambosos Jr at the Garden.
Since then, Lopez has put together a six-fight winning run but he was arguably lucky to be given the decision against Sandor Martin and he just about edged out a past-his-prime Josh Taylor during that run.
The 28-year-old does come into Saturday’s contest on the back of an excellent display, however, as he claimed a comfortable unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Arnold Barboza Jr back in May.
If the best version of Lopez turns up on Saturday this should be an incredibly technical fight between two highly-skilled boxers – but even a peak Lopez may not be good enough to overcome Stevenson.
The southpaw is an exceptional technician with defensive skills that are almost Mayweather-esque and at no point in his 24-fight career has he ever looked in any real trouble.
Stevenson does have his critics as he isn’t an all-action fighter and doesn’t take any risks.
His fights may at times be underwhelming as a spectacle but he is such a technically gifted fighter that a lack of aggression shouldn’t be a major factor.
He should be able to get a win over the line against Lopez.
Tip 2 – Stevenson by decision @ 12/25
Both of these fighters have made bold knockout claims in the build-up to this bout but chances are it will be more of a chess match than a slugfest.
Lopez does carry some serious power but he probably won’t get to utilise it against a fighter who may be the best active boxer in terms of his defensive skillset right now.
Stevenson has a modest stoppage rate and the only early finish of real note he’s secured came against Jamel Herring in 2021.
The 28-year-old has recorded two stoppages since but both of those were in fights that were mismatches, against Shuichiro Yoshino and Josh Padley.
Lopez has never been stopped and should have no problems in reaching the final bell but Stevenson’s quality suggests he can win comfortably on points.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation