Ryan Garcia is picking Shakur Stevenson to defeat Teofimo Lopez by fighting a dull, safety-first fight when they meet in January 2026.
Garcia notes that WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs) is a counter-puncher who requires opponents to come to him to land. But Shakur won’t do that, as he’ll stay on the outside, giving Lopez few opportunities to land.
Ryan says the only way Teofimo can win is by chasing Stevenson and hoping to knock him out with a single shot. He doesn’t see that happening. As such, the fight will be a “snoozefest,” which is bad for DAZN and the fans that order it on PPV.
Surprisingly, Lopez would even agree to fight a runner like Shakur, knowing how he fights, and having seen his last fight against William Zepeda on July 12th. That contest should have already clued Lopez in to what he’ll be up against fighting Stevenson.
Even if he lands to the body, he may not get credit if the judges are only focused on scoring headshots. Trying to hit Shakur to the head is very difficult because of his movement, his covering, and his leaning back.
“Teofimo is going to have to catch Shakur, and I don’t see that happening,” said Ryan Garcia to Fighthype about his belief that Shakur Stevenson will play it safe and box his way to a boring win over Teofimo Lopez in their fight in January 2026.
“Do you think Shakur is going to give him anything to give him a shot? Nah. It’s a snoozefest for sure. That’s why nobody likes watching his fights,” said Ryan when told that Stevenson has a mentality of only caring about winning, and not entertaining fans. “He got what he wanted.”
Without Teofimo going for broke, chasing Shakur, walking through his shots to land, he’s not going to win their fight on January 31st. He’s got to KO Shakur, which will be next to impossible given Shakur’s movement and the way he protects his head. He’s got that three-step pull-back move he uses.
Even when Shakur’s opponents pursue him, he’ll keep moving. As soon as his opponent stops chasing, he comes forward and lands a single jab, and then takes off again if chased. He stood stationary against William Zepeda because he’s not a power puncher. Stevenson likely would have moved all night against him, too, if not for Turki Alalshikh giving him no Tom-and-Jerry mandate before the fight.
“He can’t be hated like a Mayweather. That’s why I say he’s last place for me to take over boxing. He’s just like last place. Nobody is really going to want to watch him,” said Garcia.
Fan taste has changed since the days of Mayweather. Back when he was fighting. There weren’t many entertainment options. So, boxing fans were willing to watch Floyd fight, using his hit-and-not-get-hit fencing style of fighting. Fans would complain afterwards about how boring he was, and how they felt they’d wasted their money.
Fighters like Shakur are stuck without Turki Alalshikh using them. The main appeal of Shakur is to play the villain role, as he annoys fans with his confidence, turns in boring performances, and is always matched against fighters who have no chance of beating him. He’s not put in with guys who can beat him, like Andy Cruz, Abdullah Mason, and Floyd Schofield.