Shakur Stevenson didn’t buy into the idea that his win over Teofimo Lopez lacked greatness, shrugging it off as criticism rooted in preference rather than achievement.
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The undefeated lightweight responded directly after commentator Sean Zittel grouped Stevenson’s struggles with other recent bouts he labeled underwhelming.
“I was too dominant but to say it wasn’t a true masterpiece. WOW,” Stevenson posted on X, adding laughing emojis to underline the sarcasm.
Zittel posted earlier:
“I think both Shakur-Teofimo and Inoue-Nakatani were underwhelming fights. Both are great fighters, but neither fight was a real masterpiece.”
“Crawford-Canelo, Shakur-Teofimo, Inoue-Nakatani, Usyk-Fury, Bivol-Beterbiev. None of these were big fights.”
Zittel tapped into a growing frustration. Looking at the landscape of 2026, the screen match approach is becoming a tough sell, especially for the blue-collar fans who shell out hard-earned cash for PPVs.
Shakur had the skills to dominate Teofimo Lopez last January, but by choosing never to step on the gas, he left the fans at MSG booing. It felt like he was more afraid of losing than he was interested in winning big.
Usyk vs. Fury / Bivol vs. Beterbiev were considered historic clashes, but the heavy emphasis on playing it safe and neutralizing power rather than engaging left a sour taste. When the biggest names in the sport are content to box to a narrow decision, it drains the energy from the room.
The sport is losing ground to high-intensity formats because the top guys are too worried about their “0” to take a risk. If you’re paying $70, you don’t want to watch a guy push and move for 36 minutes; you want a fight.
In the US market, there is a literal cost to this style. Casual fans want to see “blood, broken faces and broken bones,” as Turki Alalshikh said last year, not a 12-round track meet.
Last updated on 2026/05/02 at 15:20
