Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson Preview Jan. 31st, 2026
Current Ring Magazine, Lineal and WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez of Brooklyn, New York defends his titles against unbeaten former WBC Lightweight and WBO, WBC Jr. Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson of Newark, New Jersey. The 12-rounder from Madison Square Garden in New York City takes place this Saturday, Jan. 31st and can be seen live in most nations on DAZN pay-per-view. Lopez was last in the ring in May when he beat Arnold Barboza Jr. via a comfortable unanimous decision in a non-eventful fight. Stevenson’s last contest resulted in a wide unanimous nod over William Zepeda to defend his Lightweight Belt. Lopez edged Josh Taylor in June, 2023 for the WBO and Ring Titles and is also a former WBA Super World, IBF, WBO, and Ring Magazine World Lightweight Champion.
Lopez vs Stevenson Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Teofimo Lopez +269
- Shakur Stevenson -375
My Pick
The 28-year-old Lopez climbs into the ring with a mark of 22-1 with 13 Ko’s and is former multiple world title holder who also held the NABF, WBC Continental Americas, USBA, and NABA-USA Lightweight Belts earlier in his career. Lopez originally won the WBA and WBO Lightweight Titles in October, 2020 when he beat a rather tame-looking Vasyl Lomachenko by a somewhat controversial unanimous decision and had won the IBF belt 10 months earlier when he stopped Richard Commey in the second round.
However, he lost a split decision and all of his titles to George Kambosos Jr in his first defence in November, 2021 in a fight which saw Lopez down in the first round and Kambosos on the deck in the 10th. Lopez is regarded as one of the sport’s top boxers due to his whirlwind, non-stop style and power but struggled against Masayoshi Nakatani in July 2019 as well as against Lomachenko in the last half of their fight and also against Sandor Martin in another controversial win, this time by split decision over 10 rounds in December, 2022.
In addition, he defended his Junior Welterweight Belt via a controversial unanimous decision over Jamaine Ortiz in February, 2024 and just four months later he also looked lacklustre in a wide unanimous decision over Steve Claggett. Lopez owns better-than-average power as 59.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in five straight fights and in seven of his past eight. Lopez isn’t really a one-punch KO artist even though he nailed Richard Commey perfectly in the second round of their December, 2019 bout to win the IBF crown.
He typically stops opponents with the sheer volume of punches he throws rather than with just one shot. Lopez stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 68.5-inch and has 149 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in November, 2016. He enjoyed a fine amateur career and fought for Honduras at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he lost in the first round of competition. He’s also a former national Golden Gloves Champion and has had no problem adapting to pro boxing. Lopez has also beaten the likes of Edis Tatli, Diego Magdaleno, Mason Menard, William Silva, Vitor Jones, Juan Pablo Sanchez and Francisco Medel.
Stevenson, a southpaw, is also 28 years-old and makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 24-0 with 11 Ko’s. He enjoyed an excellent amateur career as well as he won a USA Junior National Championship and World Junior Championship in 2013. The next year he captured the USA Youth National, Youth Olympic Games and World Youth Championships. He won the USA Youth National Title in 2015 as well as the Olympic trials and qualifiers. He then fought at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and won the silver medal as a bantamweight.
Since turning pro in 2017 he’s boxed 178 rounds and has also captured the IBF Inter-Continental, WBC Continental Americas, and WBO NABO Featherweight Titles as well as the WBO Featherweight Crown. Stevenson stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and owns a 68-inch reach. Stevenson beat Robson Conceicao via a unanimous decision in September, 2022 but was stripped of his WBO and WBC Junior Lightweight Belts for missing weight. He had won the WBO Title in October, 2021 by stopping Jamel Herring in the 10th round and added the WBC version when he beat Oscar Valdez by unanimous decision in April, 2022.
He captured the vacant WBC Lightweight Crown in November, 2023 in a dreadful unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos and defended it against Artem Harutyunyan, Josh Padley and Zepeda. He’s certainly not not known as a KO artist by any means as he possesses average power with a current knockout ratio of 45.8 per cent and has gone the distance in seven of his last 10 fights. He displays fine boxing skills and speed and has plenty of long-term championship potential in multiple weight classes. He also has wins over Shuichiro Yoshino, Joet Gonzalez, Alberto Guevara, Jeremia Nakathila, Christopher Diaz, Jesse Cris Rosales and Juan Tapia.
Prediction…
Lopez has been inconsistent over the past few years as he either struggles mightily or appears to be unbeatable. However, he does possess enough power to stop a fight with one shot even though that power hasn’t really been on display lately. Stevenson proved against William Zepeda that he can handle a pressure boxer as he owns a pretty good chin even though he lacks power. He’s certainly never been accused as being the most exciting boxer out there but has a style that’s proven to be a thorn in everybody’s side and can be entertaining if he decides to let his hands go. I believe Stevenson is the better overall boxer in this matchup and should be able to win another world title an another weight division, likely by a close and perhaps controversial decision.
Stevenson has superior boxing skills.
Play Stevenson +200 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Shakur Stevenson betting • Teofimo Lopez betting