STEVE’S SOAPBOX
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SHAKUR KICKS IN THE CLUBHOUSE DOOR By Steve Kim
Shakur Stevenson dazzled in a punch- perfect display against Teofimo Lopez.
Stevenson is now a four-division titleholder (in addition to being a two-division Ring Magazine champion). The well-schooled southpaw was so impressive that some pundits have anointed him number one on their pound-for-pound lists. More on that later. But here’s my question: Is there anyone between 135 and 140 that beats him? (Keep in mind that coming into this contest, Stevenson held a lightweight title that the WBC later stripped him of for not allowing himself to be extorted for $120,000 in sanctioning fees.) I’d go even further: I’m not sure that there is anybody at welterweight I’d favor over Stevenson. Yeah, I said it. At lightweight, his biggest threat would be Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who has never shown any real interest
I n the aftermath of Shakur Stevenson’s victory over Teofimo Lopez on January 31 at Madison Square Garden, adulation has been flowing in for the 28-year-old from Newark, New Jersey. And for good reason. Stevenson didn’t just beat Lopez; he dominated him throughout 36 minutes to win the Ring junior welterweight championship and WBO title. Lopez tried coming forward to pressure Stevenson in some instances and attempted to time and counterpunch him in others. Neither tactic worked particularly well, and it was evident by the middle rounds that Lopez had no
answers for the complex equation that is Stevenson inside a ring. It wasn’t that Lopez was that bad, but that Stevenson really was that good. Lopez, who was the lineal champion at lightweight and then junior welterweight on account of his victories over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, respectively, is still a talented fighter. But on this night, he was never truly competitive. In his other loss, to George Kambosos, he at least scored a knockdown in what was a relatively close contest. Against the stealthy Stevenson, he was basically shut out.
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