Shakur’s brave but too slow and protected

Teofimo Lopez says he “praises” Shakur Stevenson for showing courage to face him at 140 in 2026. He says that Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) is trying to follow in the footsteps of his “big brother,” Terence Crawford, by striving to take on bigger fights.

“About Time” Stevenson fights a real threat

WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs) says that Stevenson lacks the hand speed, talent and strength to follow the blueprint of his mentor, Crawford.

He calls Newark, New Jersey native Shakur as “slow” and powerless. However, Lopez does respect the courage and ambition that Stevenson is showing by “stepping up” to challenge him in 2026. Lopez says it is “about time” that Shakur faces a talented opponent, as he has never fought anyone who posed a threat to him since turning professional in 2017, following his loss to Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in the 2016 Olympics.

The Apex fights that Shakur should have taken

In other words, Teofimo believes that Shakiur was protected in the pro ranks by his promoters, Top Rank and Matchroom. However, it is not only on them. Stevenson has the cachet to insist that they match him against these top predators if he is truly interested in following the blueprint of his ‘Big Bro’ Crawford to ascend to his higher powers:

• Andy Cruz
• Ernesto Mercado
• Abdullah Mason
• Floyd Schofield
• Raymond Muratalla

Lopez: Shakur is “slow, really slow” at 135

“I saw him at lightweight in his last fight against (William) Zepeda, and he is slow, really slow. There’s nothing more to it than that,” Teofimo Lopez said on commentary Brian Custer’s YouTube channel, talking about WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson’s last fight against William Zepeda at 135 on July 12, 2025.

Many boxing fans echoed Teofimo’s observation about Shakur’s lack of hand speed. They said the same thing about him. Stevenson doesn’t have the blazing hand speed of talents like Andy Cruz and Floyd Schofield at 135.

Protected by promoters, not tested by predators

Stevenson managed to get by with matchups, which was the perfect cover for his lack of speed and power. Instead of Matchroom and Top Rank throwing Shakur to the sharks since he turned pro, they’ve kept him level against these minnows:

• Josh Padley
• Artem Harutyunyan
• Shuichiro Yoshino
• Jeremiah Nakathila
• Leave Kahn Clary

Teofimo predicts a humiliation at 140

“Terence Crawford, what he refers to as ‘Big Brother,’ I think that’s what really keeps him going because he wants to aim for bigger and better fights and for better opposition,” Teofimo said of Shakur. “I applaud him for stepping up, and I think it’s time for him to take his first loss. whoop his a** to the point where he leaves on his chair or I knock him out.”

Teo is right. Shakur is finally showing some backbone after all these years, but it doesn’t look good for him. His last fight against William Zepeda, earlier this year on July 12, highlighted the flaws in his game. Stevenson lacks the hand speed and power to survive against fighters with killer power and speed.