![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260130020315_preview013026.JPG\")
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Madison Square Garden has seen its share of legendary nights in
\nboxing history. That trend will continue on Saturday in New York,
\nwhere \u201cThe World\u2019s Most Famous Arena\u201d hosts the WBO super
\nlightweight title clash between reigning champion Teofimo Lopez and
\nundefeated challenger Shakur Stevenson. Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs)
\nhopes to claim a belt in his fourth weight class and usurp the
\nexplosive and eccentric Brooklyn, New York-born champion, but it
\nwill not be easy. At 140 pounds, Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) will be the
\nbiggest, fastest and most skilled opponent the Newark, New
\nJersey-born former Olympic silver medalist has faced to date.
\nHowever, Stevenson poses his own challenges as a brilliant
\ndefensive mastermind with a deceptive amount of pop in his
\npunches.<\/p>\n
Lopez and Stevenson have shared the ring before as sparring
\npartners, and despite some promotional bad blood, there\u2019s a healthy
\nlevel of respect between the two slick counterpunchers. Former
\npromotional stablemates at Top Rank, Lopez and Stevenson have spent
\nthe better parts of their careers in each other\u2019s crosshairs.
\nVictory would elevate the winner to superstardom and near the top
\nof the pound-for-pound rankings.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the megafight:TALE OF THE TAPE
\n
\nTeofimo Lopez
\nBirthplace: Brooklyn, New York
\nAge: 28
\nRecord: 22-1, 13 KOs
\nHeight: 5-foot-8
\nReach: 68.5 inches
\nBest Wins: \u201cThe Takeover\u201d exploded onto the scene
\nin 2019 when he defeated unbeaten Japanese contender Masayoshi
\nNakatani in an IBF lightweight eliminator. Five months later, Lopez
\nclaimed his first world title when he starched Richard Commey in
\ntwo rounds. Lopez announced himself on the world stage the
\nfollowing year by dethroning WBA, WBO and The Ring lineal champion
\nVasily Lomachenko by unanimous decision. After losing the belts to
\nGeorge Kambosos Jr., Lopez headed north to 140 pounds, where he has
\nenjoyed the spoils of a six-fight winning streak. Throughout that
\nspan, he has defeated Pedro Campa, Sandor Martin, Josh Kelly,
\nJamaine Ortiz, Steve Clagett and Arnold Barboza Jr.<\/p>\n
Shakur Stevenson
\nBirthplace: Newark, New Jersey
\nAge: 28
\nRecord: 24-0, 11 KOs
\nHeight: 5-foot-8
\nReach: 68 inches
\nBest Wins: After claiming silver at the 2016
\nOlympics in Rio de Janeiro, Stevenson debuted the following year at
\n126 pounds. Cruising to victories in his first 12 fights, Stevenson
\nhanded 23-0 Joet Gonzalez his first loss to win the vacant WBO
\nfeatherweight title in 2019. Stevenson would vacate the belt months
\nlater to pursue gold at 130 pounds. This was the weight class where
\nStevenson finally cornered some big-name competition, taking the
\nWBO, WBC and The Ring titles off Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez.
\nAfter losing his titles on the scale, Stevenson conquered a third
\nweight class when he defeated Edwin De Los Santos. Despite his
\nunblemished record, fans have criticized Stevenson for his
\ndefensive style and low offensive output, but doubters were
\nsilenced following Stevenson\u2019s 12-round masterclass against the
\nfeared Mexican swarmer William Zepeda.HOW TO WATCH
\n
\nThe Ring 6 kicks off live from Madison Square Garden in New York on
\nSaturday, Jan. 31. The card starts at 6 p.m. ET\/3 p.m. PT and is
\navailable through DAZN Pay-Per-View. The full card:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson \u2013 WBO super lightweight
\nchampionship
\u2022 Keyshawn Davis vs. Jamaine Ortiz \u2013 super lightweight co-main
\nevent
\u2022 Bruce Carrington vs. Carlos Castro \u2013 WBC featherweight
\nchampionship
\u2022 Carlos Adames vs. Austin Williams \u2013 WBC middleweight
\nchampionship
\u2022 Jarrell Miller vs. Kingsley Ibeh \u2013 heavyweight bout
\u2022 Ziyad Al Maayouf vs. Kevin Costello \u2013 welterweight bout<\/p>\n
BETTING ODDS
\n
\nThe undefeated Stevenson comes in as the favorite (-320) to
\ndethrone Lopez (+230), according to FanDuel. Despite the slight
\nreach disadvantage, Stevenson\u2019s amateur pedigree, unblemished
\nrecord and defensive skill set make him a slight favorite to win a
\n12-round decision (-190). Lopez is viewed as the more explosive
\npuncher, with odds of +600 to finish the fight by knockout.PATHS TO VICTORY
\n
\nIf there\u2019s anybody who has the skill set necessary to hand
\nStevenson his first professional loss, it\u2019s Lopez. Like Stevenson,
\nLopez fought in the Rio Olympics\u2014he represented Honduras\u2014and has a
\nstellar boxing IQ. Blessed with phenomenal hand speed and reflexes,
\nLopez contains a ton of explosiveness paired with a sixth sense for
\ntiming. He\u2019s a deceptive counterpuncher who can pick opponents
\napart with his jab before making them pay with counter check hooks
\nand sneaky uppercuts. Lopez\u2019s biggest wins have come against two
\nelite southpaws in Lomachenko and Kelly, as he was able to enter a
\nflow state and shut down their offense. Lopez\u2019s quick feet in the
\nopen-stance matchup make him difficult to get an angle on.
\nStevenson has been plagued by hand problems throughout his career
\nand has voiced concerns about the challenge at 140 pounds. It\u2019s
\nclear that he\u2019s expecting a chess match, but Lopez can dictate the
\nterms of this fight by leading the dance and forcing Stevenson to
\nfight at his pace. Every round counts in a fight like this between
\ntwo counterpunchers. A crisp jab or a misunderstood stumble could
\nbe the difference between winning and losing a round. Lopez needs
\nto impose his will in the clinch, outwork Stevenson on the outside
\nand play off the New York crowd. Stevenson stays true to his style
\nand refuses to step out of his comfort zone. He relies on superior
\npositioning and is an extremely disciplined fighter. A slow-paced
\nfight plays to his advantage, but if Lopez touches him with his
\npower, it could present a problem he has never faced.<\/p>\n
For Stevenson, the blueprint to beating Lopez has been written. In
\nhis lone defeat to George Kambosos Jr., Lopez was dropped by a
\nwell-timed right hand. The shot didn\u2019t hurt Lopez, but he can be
\ncareless with his balance when he\u2019s moving forward. Lopez isn\u2019t
\nafraid to leap into punches and throw explosive pot shots. If
\nStevenson can catch him in between punches, he could secure a flash
\nknockdown. Lopez\u2019s footwork has been underwhelming in some of his
\npast fights. Against Ortiz, he was unable to close off the ring and
\npin him down. Against Steve Claggett, Lopez had trouble finding
\nspace amidst the Canadian\u2019s forward pressure. He took way too many
\neasy hits and was quickly drawn into an unnecessary firefight.
\nDespite his reputation for being a defensive counterpuncher,
\nStevenson is a crafty fighter on the inside who isn\u2019t afraid to
\npunish the body. Stevenson can turn on the pressure when he needs
\nto, and if Lopez wants to bang, he will be more than happy to
\noblige.<\/p>\n
This fight has the makings of a masterclass in technical boxing or
\na 12-round snoozer. Lopez and Stevenson are two of the best
\ncounterpunchers in the business, but when two counterpunchers face
\noff, somebody still has to take the lead. The faints and positional
\nbattle may underwhelm the casual fan, but diehard purists will
\nstudy this fight for years. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Madison Square Garden has seen its share of legendary nights in boxing history. That trend will continue on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[4225,64,63,802,44,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-446481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-article","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-boxing","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}