{"id":447587,"date":"2026-02-01T17:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/447587\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T17:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T17:39:12","slug":"shakur-stevenson-i-picked-him-apart-after-lopez-clinic-as-benn-crashes-ring-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/447587\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson: \u2018I picked him apart\u2019 after L\u00f3pez clinic as Benn crashes ring | Boxing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shakur Stevenson described his dominant victory over Te\u00f3fimo L\u00f3pez<\/a> at Madison Square Garden as the product of discipline, preparation and years of studying his opponent, after producing what many observers viewed as the finest performance of his career.<\/p>\n

The unbeaten American outboxed L\u00f3pez over 12 rounds<\/a> to become a four-division world champion, a moment Stevenson said validated his long-held belief that he belongs among boxing\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll glory to God. It was an amazing night,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cI put the work in. I stayed disciplined throughout my camp. I was in tremendous shape. He\u2019s a hell of a fighter, but I was the better man tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevenson said he felt in control early in the fight and believed he had mentally and physically broken down L\u00f3pez well before the final bell.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I definitely did,\u201d he said when asked if he felt he had demoralized his opponent. \u201cI feel like he\u2019s a fighter, so he tried to fight back, but yeah, I picked him apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old said he also sensed a physical edge during the fight, recalling a moment early on when he realized he could overwhelm the champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the second round, I told my corner, I said, I\u2019m stronger than he is,\u201d Stevenson said.<\/p>\n

Stevenson credited his tactical preparation as a decisive factor, saying extensive film study helped him anticipate L\u00f3pez\u2019s movements and tendencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI studied them. I studied them all,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cEverything I saw on tape was there tonight. There is benefits from watching tape.\u201d<\/p>\n

That preparation was particularly evident in Stevenson\u2019s use of the jab, which he repeatedly used to control distance and disrupt L\u00f3pez\u2019s rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told my team before the fight, I said I got one of the best jabs in the world,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cTonight I went out there and used my jab over and over and made it a weapon, and he couldn\u2019t stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite entering the fight having spoken openly about wanting a stoppage, Stevenson said he had no regrets about winning by decision against a durable opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no disappointment. It\u2019s boxing at the end of the day,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was about to stop him, he started fighting back a little bit. So respect to him. He\u2019s a sharp fighter. He got a lot of knowledge, and he did what he had to do to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stevenson framed the victory as a defining career moment, particularly given the age and pedigree of his opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told everybody my moment was gonna come,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cI\u2019ve been calling people out. Teo took the bait. Finally somebody took the bait. I\u2019ve been begging for this moment. We finally got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also suggested the win could mark the beginning of a new phase in his career as he pursues the biggest fights available.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m into big fights. I like big fights. I like big money fights. I like proving that I\u2019m the best,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cI like doing things that people say I can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the potential future opponents raised after the fight was Britain\u2019s Conor Benn, who climbed into the ring moments after the decision was announced, briefly facing off with Stevenson as the crowd reacted.<\/p>\n

Stevenson indicated he would be open to the bout if terms could be agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m into big fights. I like big money fights. I like proving that I\u2019m the best,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people that say I\u2019m too little for Conor Benn and I can\u2019t do it \u2013 so it makes for a tremendous fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Stevenson suggested negotiations could hinge on weight and contractual terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he\u2019s not going to agree, then we probably don\u2019t fight,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cI\u2019m a businessman at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead more broadly, Stevenson said his next move would be determined by a balance of legacy and financial opportunity rather than a specific opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gotta go back to the drawing board and get in front of my management team and see who is going to bring the biggest money fight and the biggest legacy fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Stevenson, Saturday\u2019s performance represented more than another title win \u2013 it was confirmation that he belongs at the very top of the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure,\u201d he said when asked if he believes he is now one of boxing\u2019s central figures. \u201cI just stayed steady. I told everybody my moment was gonna come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shakur Stevenson described his dominant victory over Te\u00f3fimo L\u00f3pez at Madison Square Garden as the product of discipline,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-447587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}