Ryan Garcia picks Shakur Stevenson to defeat Teofimo Lopez in a dull, safety-first fight when they meet in January 2026.
Garcia notes that WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs) is a counterpuncher who requires opponents to come at him to land. But Shakur won’t do that because he’ll stay on the outside, giving Lopez few opportunities to land.
Ryan says the only way Teofimo can win is by chasing Stevenson and hoping to knock him out with a single shot. He doesn’t see it happening. As such, the fight will be a “slumberfest,” which is bad for DAZN and the fans who order it on PPV.
Amazingly, Lopez would even agree to fight a runner like Shakur, knowing how he fights, and having seen his last fight against William Zepeda on July 12th. That match should have already let Lopez know what he will be up against against Stevenson.
Even if he lands to the body, he might not get credit if the judges are only focused on scoring head shots. Trying to hit Shakur to the head is very difficult because of his movement, his coverage and his leaning back.
“Teofimo is going to have to catch Shakur, and I don’t see that happening,” Ryan Garcia said. Battle hype on his belief that Shakur Stevenson will play it safe and box his way to a boring win over Teofimo Lopez in their January 2026 fight.
“Do you think Shakur is going to give him anything to give him a chance? No. It’s a snoozefest for sure. That’s why nobody likes to watch his fights,” Ryan said when told that Stevenson has a mentality that only cares about winning, not entertaining fans. “He got what he wanted.”
Without Teofimo going for breaks, chasing Shakur, running through his shots, he’s not going to win their fight on January 31st. He needs to KO Shakur, which will be nearly impossible given Shakur’s movement and the way he protects his head. He has that three-step retreat move that he uses.
Even when Shakur’s opponents are chasing him, he will keep moving. Once his opponent stops chasing, he comes forward and lands a single jab, then takes off again if chased. He stalled against William Zepeda because he is not a power puncher. Stevenson probably would have gone all night against him as well, if not for Turki Alalshikh giving him no Tom-and-Jerry mandate before the fight.
“He can’t be hated like a Mayweather. That’s why I say he’s the last place for me to take over boxing. He’s just like the last place. Nobody’s really going to want to watch him,” Garcia said.
Fan tastes have changed since the days of Mayweather. Back when he was fighting. There weren’t many entertainment options. So boxing fans were willing to watch Floyd fight, with his punch and no-punch screen style of fighting. Fans will complain afterwards about how boring he was, and how they feel they wasted their money.
Fighters like Shakur are stuck without Turki Alalshikh using it. Shakur’s main appeal is playing the villain, as he annoys fans with his confidence, delivers boring performances, and is always matched up against fighters who have no chance of beating him. He’s not put in with guys who can beat him, like Andy Cruz, Abdullah Mason and Floyd Schofield.
Last updated on 30/11/2025
