Teofimo Lopez confirmed yesterday on X that he’ll be returning to the ring in January 2026. The WBO light welterweight champion Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) didn’t specify a date in January, only the month. He also failed to reveal the opponent.
The whole world knows it’s going to be Shakur Stevenson, but Teo chose not to name him in his post. Turki Alalshikh is reportedly involved in financing the fight. It’s unknown which of the two fighters is causing the hold-up in the negotiations, but fans are blaming Lopez due to his reputation for being difficult to deal with.
January 🤙
— Teofimo Lopez (@TeofimoLopez) November 5, 2025
Fans Grow Tired of Teofimo’s Teases
The way Lopez has drip-fed the news about this matchup has annoyed fans, who view it as tiresome, considering it’s not a particularly great fight to begin with. Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) isn’t particularly entertaining to watch with his outdated late-Mayweather style.
With negotiations between Shakur, 28, and Lopez dragging on, many fans will be disappointed if the fight doesn’t materialize. Lopez, 28, has already mentioned repeatedly that he’ll be fighting in January 2026.
It’s unclear why he bothered to post the same thing yesterday about his return. What he should have done was shake up the fans by mentioning a list of the top four candidates that he’s considering for that month.
That would at least have boxing fans wondering who it could be, as many of them hate the idea of watching a chess match between Teofimo and Shakur.
Stevenson’s Grueling Win Over Zepeda
Assuming the fight gets made, Stevenson will be freezing his WBC lightweight title and moving up to 140 to challenge Lopez for his WBO light welterweight title. Stevenson is coming off one of the toughest fights of his career against William Zepeda on July 12, 2025. He took a beating in that fight from the Mexican warrior.
Shakur defeated the high-volume puncher Zepeda by a 12-round unanimous decision on Turki Alalshikh’s event in Queens, New York. The fight turned out to be a grueling one, with Shakur taking numerous body blows and arguably being knocked down by a right hand 30 seconds into round three.
Although Stevenson claimed later that he’d slipped, slow-motion replays showed that he was hit with a solid right hand from Zepeda, causing him to collapse into the ropes, which held him up. The contest showed Shakur’s vulnerabilities on full scale. He lacks power and can’t stand and fight without absorbing huge punishment from his more powerful opponents.
Teofimo has taken a lot of heat from fans for the way his promoters at Top Rank have strategically matched him since he moved up to 140 in 2022. Instead of matching Lopez against A-level fighters, he has been repeatedly paired against beatable opponents, such as Steve Claggett, Arnold Barboza Jr., Pedro Campa, Sandor Martin, Josh Taylor, and Jamaine Ortiz. Interestingly, two of Lopez’s wins were controversial over Sandor and Jamaine.
The 140-Pound Sharks Teofimo Yet to Face
- Gary Antuanne Russell
- Subriel Matias
- Keyshawn Davis
- Alberto Puello
- Ernesto Mercado
- Kevin Brown
Facing Shakur gives Teofimo more time to avoid the pressure from fans to face these fighters. But eventually, Teo is going to have to face the music and begin fighting these talents. He can’t make a career out of facing weak punchers like Shakur, Martin, Barboza Jr, and Claggett.