Shakur Stevenson picks Teofimo Lopez for “safer” belt

Trainer Bernie Davis says the reason Shakur Stevenson chose Teofimo Lopez over Subriel Matias at 140 to chase the belt is because he wanted to fight a “superstar.” He rates Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) as living up to the “superstar” label.

(Credit: Golden Boy)

Has Shakur played it safe at 140?

Insiders suspect that Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) noticed the obvious vulnerability in Teofimo's game, noting his loss to George Kambossos and his controversial wins at 140 against Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.

Theo is considered the weakest of the welterweight champions by some fans. They considered Shakur calculated by selecting him over Mathias, Gary Antoine Russell and Richardson Hitchins.

“Shakur wants all the best fights. He's an archer, a defense mage, and can you solve this puzzle?” coach Bernie Davis said Mill City Boxing for Shakur Stevenson. “This man is invincible.”

If Stephenson wants the best fighters, why did he choose not to fight Andy Cruz, Ernesto Mercado, Raymond Muratala, Abdullah Mason or fight Floyd Scofield? Shakur's resume is mediocre.

Newark, New Jersey native Stevenson is certainly not invincible. 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 losing to both fighters. He ran away from De Los Santos and was booed out of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with his 12-round unanimous decision in November 2023.

The Superstar Illusion at 140

“Mathias already has a fight. Teofimo, they're in. They're the young guys,” Bernie said when asked why Shakur didn't target WBA welterweight champion Subriel Matias instead of Teofimo at 140. “They are young superstars. It's a superstar fight. Shakur wants a fight with a superstar.”

If Shakur wants a superstar to artificially validate him, he's picking the wrong fighter because Teofimo doesn't meet the standards to be labeled as one. Matias did lose to Liam Paro, but it's a fight he should have won if the referee had penalized the Aussie for constant pushing, holding and rabbit punches. Paro used all three of these tactics to neutralize Matias' attack, and the referee didn't lift a finger to take away the points.

“He just beat Cepeda. He (Stevenson) is a superstar. He needs a fight with a superstar. Teofimo also holds the Ring Magazine Championship. He also has a great win over Lomachenko. He has a great win over Josh Taylor. So it's a superstar fight. Subriel Mathias is not a superstar,” Bernie said.

A better argument for perhaps the real reason Shakur chose Teofimo over Matias is that he is a more winnable fight. Lopez has struggled since moving up to 140 in 2022, and was only saved from sinking his career to rock bottom thanks to his promoters at Top Rank backing him with careful match selection.

The General Population Test.

If they had scored Teofimo the general populationhe would have blown himself up and be ready for the trash heap. The Fighters That Would Sink Lopez's Career So Far At 140″

• Gary Antoine Russell
• Richardson Hitchins
• Ernesto Mercado
• Keyshawn Davis
• Subriel Mathias
• Alberto Puelo

Shakur will likely lose to all or most of these fighters. He doesn't have the strength to handle this type of fighter, and he could barely handle William Zepeda. He doesn't have the physical tools to beat top fighters at 140 or 135.

Granted, Mathias isn't a superstar, but for Berby to use that as a reason to pick Shakur sounds 100% disingenuous or at the very least ignorant. Teofimo is no superstar either. He is a fighter who lost to George Kambosos Jr. and deserved to lose his fight against Jamaine Ortiz on February 8, 2024.

The judges gave Lopez a close 12-round unanimous decision, but many boxing fans saw it as a blatant robbery, with the A-side fighter getting the win over the lesser-known, less marketable man.

Written by Nation Vegas, a boxing analyst covering the 2013 world title fights.