Shakur, the master technician, will try to exploit Teo’s biggest weakness, which is his lack of mobility in the ring. Lopez struggled to cut off the ring against Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz because he was very limited offensively. Teofimo’s offensive struggles were career lows, failing to get 100 hits in any game.
He connected on less than 25 percent of his punches against Martin and Ortiz, who are defensively savvy but not at the level of Stevenson, who is considered the best defensive boxer in the world.
Shakur’s opponents’ total connecting percentage of 16.7 percent is one of the best in the sport. In his last fight against William Zepeda, a volume puncher who threw nearly 1,000 punches in the contest, landed only 27.8 percent of his punches (Compubox).
Stevenson will look to control the distance by strategically using his agility and speed to strike with precision while stepping out of range before Lopez can counter. If he is able to execute this strategy, he will outpoint Teo in a technical match.
Lopez looked focused during fight week activities and promised to put on a show. At Thursday’s press conference, he hurled personal insults at Shakur, aiming to anger him in hopes of getting him to change his game plan for fight day.
Lopez knows he will do much better in the match if he faces an aggressive Stevenson who trades with him in a shootout rather than one who boxes him in a technical chess match.
Teofimo is fantastic on the inside, and he holds the advantage of being the stronger, bigger fighter. This is Shakur’s first fight at 140 pounds, and he will be tested against Teofimo
Who will look to land by determining that he enters.
If Lopez isn’t effective cutting off the ring against Shakur, he’s going to struggle to find the target and land his shots.
