‘A Little Coo Coo’ — Roach questions Teofimo’s focus Jan31

Lamont Roach says Teofimo Lopez is suffering “mental decay” during fights, and he struggles against “pure boxers”.

Roach says that Lopez’s erratic performances are one of the reasons why he’s picking Shakur Stevenson to defeat him in their main event on DAZN on January 31st.

Lamont believes that it is not a “super tough fight” for Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) to defeat WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs). Stevenson dominating him the way he has his recent opponents, Josh Padley and Artem Harutyunyan, would be embarrassing.

Pure Boxers: Lopez’s Kryptonite

“He’s hit or miss. He’s a little coo coo. He has little mental disorders every now and then,” said Lamont Roach Ring Champs podcastand choose Shakur Stevenson over a non-spiritually engaged Teofimo Lopez. I think Shakur wins, and I don’t think it’s going to be a super tough fight either. His IQ will frustrate him.”

It’s hard to believe, given the struggles Stevenson had last July against William Zepeda and in his fight against Edwin De Los Santos in 2023. Those are the only two quality fighters Stevenson has faced in the past three years, since 2022.

If Stevenson stands still – risky

It’s still not going to be easy for Shakur when he’s in the pocket against Teofimo like he was against Zepeda, Josh Padley and Artem Harutyunyan. He’s going to get hit if he chooses to keep quiet.

Shakur’s mobility isn’t good enough to keep Teofimo from cutting off the ring and forcing him into exchanges. We saw him do it in his fight against Jamaine Ortiz in February 2024. He is a better mover than Shakur, with superior hand speed and power. Teofimo repeatedly came to him and forced him into exchanges.

Jamaine had the hand speed and combo punch to fight Lopez. Stevenson can’t do that because he’s not a combination puncher and has no power.

Sandor Martin & Kambosos Flashbacks

“If you look at Teo’s performances against guys who are pure boxers, it’s just like (hit or miss). He almost lost to Sandor Martin. Some people thought he lost to Sandor Martin. Look at the Kambosos fight. It’s a fight that people would never expect Kambosos to win, and he also won a grueling match against him,” says Roach.

Stevenson would never have fought Teofimo like Kambosos, trading power shots. He is not that type of fighter. Southpaw Sandor Martin was able to catch Lopez with sneaky right hooks that he couldn’t see. He had a way of throwing them that was hard for Lopez to predict.