Teófimo López vs. Shakur Stevenson clash made official

A clash between Teófimo López (22-1, 13 KOs) and Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) is now official.

The pair will headline a Ring magazine card to be broadcast on DAZN in New York City on January 31. An exact venue for their fight has not been confirmed at the time of publishing this article. The clash will take place at the super lightweight, with López’s WBO title on the line.

A fight between both men had been teased for quite some time. It is only now that the stakeholders – Matchroom Boxing, Top Rank Boxing, DAZN, and The Ring have confirmed that it will go ahead. Additional details, including the venue and undercard, will be announced at a later date.

Teófimo López vs. Shakur Stevenson clash made official

Fighter reactions

“Duck, duck, goose!” said López in a press release. “Are you ready for New York City? Brick city in the concrete jungle, so let’s get ready to rumble! The takeover is here to stay, not play. Make boxing great again is my forte. Shakur will fall in nine.”

“I have never shied away from a challenge and always chased the biggest fights in the sport because I know I am one of the best boxers in the world,” Stevenson said in the press release. “Teófimo López will learn that firsthand on January 31 when I take his belt and show him that there are levels to this game. New York, get ready for a spectacular performance as I take over a fourth straight weight division.”

Fighter backgrounds

López, the reigning WBO super lightweight champion, will seek to defend that title for a fourth time since winning it against Josh Taylor in 2023. He was previously a unified IBF, WBA, and WBO lightweight champion until losing those belts to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021. López represented Honduras, the country his parents were born in, at the 2016 Olympics.

Stevenson will be making the move up in weight for this fight. He is currently the WBC lightweight champion, a title he has defended three times since defeating Edwin De Los Santos in 2023. Stevenson was also a unified WBO and WBC super featherweight champion. He lost those titles on the scales in 2022 prior to facing Robson Conceição. The Newark-born boxer also had a brief reign as WBO featherweight world champion. Stevenson won silver for the United States at the 2016 Olympics.