Shakur Stevenson has already selected his next opponent after his mini-Mega fight against Theofimo Lopez in early 2026. Stevenson (24-0, 11 COs) says after beating Lopez (22-1, 13 COs) he’s going to fight “Lamont Roach.”
WBC lightweight champion Shakur will defend its title against one of the contenders in the division in favor of a defense against Super Featherweight Roach (25-1-2, 10 COs). Stevenson’s last defense of his WBC title was on July 12, 2025 against William Zepeda.
Lopez fights first, Andy Cruz never fights?
Stevenson, 28, does not say why he prefers to fight Roach, a technical fighter without power. It might not matter. Fighting Roach will facilitate life for Shakur, because it will give him an excuse for the inevitable fight against the no. 1 WBC contender to delay, Andy cruzor one of the other contenders at 135.
A champion that eludes his own section
The worst kind of lightweight champion you can have is one who swings the contenders and chooses to fight opposition outside the weight class. It is not fair. If Shakur fights against Roach, it will have been the second consecutive match against a non-lightweight, assuming the clash against Theofimo Lopez is happening next year.
“That’s the battle I want. There is no other struggle for a bigger battle than me against theo, ‘Shakur Stevenson said Ring champs About Theofimo Lopez is the man he is looking for. “I don’t mind going to him up to 140. I think the fight is going to happen. ‘
A two -part financial strategy
Of course, Stevenson doesn’t care. The fight against theofimo works in two ways:
- It allows Shakur to avoid Andy Cruz: Fighting Lopez is significantly better than facing Olympic gold medalist Cruz in 2020 and possibly losing badly.
- The wallet will be large: Shakur was able to get an increase of the $ 7 million he made in his last fight against Zepeda.
“Lamont Roach was the one I was trying to fight. We’re going to fight after I beat the Teo,” says Stevenson, revealing his plans for the Theofimo fight.
What Stevenson has to do is plan his rebuilding plan if he loses against theofimo, because there is a very real possibility that he will be beaten.
Obviously, Shakur can return to the lightweight title and continue to defend his WBC title. But he’s going to look stupid to defend it against Roach while having a loss of Lopez.
Don’t be surprised if theofimo Shakur exposes by beating him badly, worse than defending artist Arnold Barboza Jr., on May 2, 2025. Lopez can do the same things Shakur can do, but with much more power. He has the three-foot-back style and can move around the ring just like him. What Theofimo said apart is that he knocked out in both hand. So, if he ends up on Shakur, he will harm.
Stevenson’s matchmaking safety just exposed
Stevenson came so far in the 135 pound division because of the matchmaking done for him by his former promoters on the top rank and match room. He has not faced any of the contenders at the top grade since he came to lightweight in 2023. Shakur owes much of his success to his promoters, who chose to fit him against these guys, rather than any of the Apex light weights in the division:
- Josh Padley
- Artem Harutyunyan
- William Zepeda
- Shuichiro Yoshino
- Edwin de Los Santos
Last updated on 09/24/2025
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