Shakur Stevenson says he’s going to move up to 140, dethrone WBO champion Teofimo Lopez, then vacate and give the belt to his friend, Keyshawn Davis.
Fans on social media criticized Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) on Saturday after hearing his plans to give the WBO light welterweight belt to Keyshawn if he captures it. The former WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn was stripped of his title on June 6th when he missed weight by 4.3 lbs, coming in at 139.3 lbs for his title defense against Edwin De Los Santos.
Winning the Belt for Keyshawn
Keyshawn (13-0, 9 KOs) petitioned the WBO to be installed as the #1 contender at 140. He wants to challenge Teofimo for his belt. The WBO has not yet made a decision on whether to grant Davis’ request. If they did, they would move Keyshawn ahead of the current #1 Alfredo Santiago.
“I’m going to beat Teo, get the [WBO light welterweight] title, and I’m going to vacate, and Keyshawn can get the belt. That’ll be his belt,” said Shakur Stevenson to TheDivineHook about his plans on going up to 140, dethroning WBO champion Teofimo Lopez, and then giving the title to his ‘brother’ Keyshawn Davis.
Shakur can’t just give the WBO title to Keyshawn. That’s not how it’s done. He can vacate the title, so that Keyshawn can fight the highest-ranked available contender.
It’s questionable whether Shakur will defeat Teofimo. We also don’t know if that fight will get made. If Stevenson does defeat Lopez and then vacates, Keyshawn could potentially fight for the belt against a designated contender in the WBO’s rankings. Of course, that’s assuming the WBO grants Keyshawn’s petition to be made #1.
Barely Making 135
“That’s Keyshawn’s division. I want him to go and do everything,” said Stevenson when asked if he’ll try and become undisputed at 140. “Yeah, I’m a 135-pounder. I’m not a 140,” said Shakur on whether he’ll go back down to the lightweight division. “I’m barely a 135 to be honest with y’all.”
Keyshawn should be able to win his own belt at 140. He doesn’t need Shakur to help him out. If Teofimo is out of the picture, Keyshawn would have a good chance of beating #2-ranked Isaac Cruz for the vacant WBO belt.
“I talked to Teo and he said it’s going to happen,” said Stevenson about him and Teofimo Lopez fighting next. “He’s the Ring Magazine champion at 140. He’s the man in the division. I’m a risk-taker. I like taking risks. I want to go in the ring. I’m not going to say I could lose because I don’t feel like I could lose.
“Have that risk of fear of losing higher or greater than what it usually would be if I get a no-name opponent or a guy that’s not very big. I think scared money don’t make no money, and I feel like with Teo, he’s the perfect guy that I could wake up to the challenge for