A native of Newark, New Jersey, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson entered the pro ranks back in 2017. A lot of hype surrounded Stevenson, and nine years into his pro career, Shakur has exceeded all the expectations.
The undefeated Shakur Stevenson is an elite boxer who has all the tools. Stevenson has the high level ring IQ, superior defense, an educated jab, speed, footwork, and excellent punch placement.
During his tenure in the fight game, Shakur has experienced a lot of success, but he has received some constructive criticism from casual fans. Some of the casuals label Shakur’s hit, but don’t get hit style of boxing as boring.
The casuals also view Shakur’s style as a form of running. In his most recent ring appearance, Stevenson impressed the hard-core and the casual fans when he stepped inside the squared circle to face William Zepeda.
During the course of the bout, the high volume puncher William Zepeda dictated the pace. Shakur Stevenson didn’t back down as he proceeded to stand in the pocket and participate in a crowd pleasing firefight.
With 28 seconds left to go in the third round, William Zepeda rocked Shakur Stevenson when he landed a hard right hand. For the remainder of the bout, Stevenson was defensively responsible, and on the offensive end, he consistently landed sharp counter punches.
At the conclusion of the entertaining 12-round contest, Stevenson was declared the winner by way of unanimous decision. Now the 28-year-old Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) is scheduled to face the biggest challenge of his pro career.
The 28-year-old Teofimo Lopez is a two-weight world champion who is skilled and very athletic. Despite his immense talent, Lopez is the perfect candidate in regard to Stevenson having his Mayweather moment.
Back in June 2005, Floyd Mayweather Jr was set to battle two-weight world champion Arturo Gatti. Mayweather put on a master class as he thoroughly outboxed Gatti and proceeded to stop him in the sixth round.
The victory over Gatti helped catapult Mayweather from star to mega star. Fast forward to the present day, and the three-division world champion Shakur Stevenson is in the same position that Mayweather was in 21 years ago.
On Saturday night, Stevenson has the opportunity to dominate against a well-known opponent and make the transition from star to mega star. Similar to the Mayweather vs Gatti match, the Lopez vs Stevenson bout features a significant gap in skill set.
Another similarity is the fact that Teofimo makes a lot of mistakes, and similar to Mayweather, Shakur is a ring technician who will capitalize on every error committed by his opponent.
Teofimo’s major flaws are his habit of telegraphing his shots, his low lead hand, and his tendency to constantly over-commit. If Teofimo makes these mistakes on Saturday night, then Shakur will have the chance to dominate and create his Mayweather transitional moment.
