Lopez Eyes Pacquiao As A Shakur Alternative

Teofimo Lopez is pursuing a December showdown with Manny Pacquiao, given the uncertainty surrounding a bout against Shakur Stevenson. 

Lopez, who is the WBO Junior Welterweight Champion, is looking for the biggest fights after retaining his belt with a win over Arnold Barboza Jr. in May. Shakur is the leading candidate, as the latter would have to move up from 135 following his WBC Lightweight Title defense win over William Zepeda in July. However, Shakur’s hand problems have cast doubt over the fight. Shakur pulled out of a Joe Cordina fight in October 2024, later undergoing hand surgery. Although he has returned with wins over Josh Padley and Zepeda this year, Shakur has said his hands are causing an issue. 

The problem with the Manny fight is that Pacquiao’s next bout will be on January 24, 2026. His opponent is also unclear. While Rolando Romero, the WBA Welterweight Champion, is the ideal target, Rolly has been ordered to face his mandatory Shakhram Giyasov. Meanwhile, a Lopez fight offers Pacman very little. There is no belt on offer, while a win over Romero would make Manny a welterweight champion at 47, thus breaking his own record for being the oldest welterweight champion when he beat Keith Thurman at 40 in 2019 for the WBA title. 

“Next big fight that we’re speaking on there’s two in particular. If one doesn’t go through, we have another fight going on. So December 13th is possibly [against] Manny Pacquiao. And then Shakur Stevenson in January of 2026,” Lopez said

The Approach

Lopez’s strategy would center on using his youth, power, and size advantage. As an orthodox fighter, Lopez would need to establish his lead foot outside of Pacquiao’s lead right foot to control the angle and open a path for his straight right hand. However, Lopez is primarily a counter-puncher, meaning he would have to use feints and patience to draw the attack out of Pacquiao. The danger lies in waiting too long, as Pacquiao can overwhelm stationary fighters. Lopez would aim to use his superior physical strength to push Pacquiao back and look to catch him with sharp, short counters.

Pacquiao’s game plan would be rooted in aggressive volume and movement. Pacquiao excels at fighting at confusing angles, often darting in with multi-punch combinations and exiting before his opponent can fire back. He would rely on taking the outside foot position to open a clear path for his straight left hand. Pacquiao must fight at a high pace, particularly in the early rounds, to tire the younger Lopez and disrupt his ability to load up on his power shots. However, at this stage of his career, that will be a tough task.