Many said the outcome of Shakur Stevenson vs. Teofimo Lopez would depend on which Teo comes out to fight. However, the performance from ‘Sugar’ on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden proved that it doesn’t matter which Teo came out to fight, the result will always be the same.

Stevenson didn’t just outbox or outperform Lopez—he dominated ‘The Takeover’ as if he was fighting an amateur. After 12 rounds of boxing, the Newark native secured a comfortable unanimous decision victory, as the judges scored every round in Shakur Stevenson’s favor.

119-109, 119-109, and 119-109, the official scorecard read. With the emphatic win, Stevenson is now a four-weight champion without a single blemish on his record. Teofimo Lopez, on the other hand, suffered his second professional defeat, having lost to George Kambosos Jr. previously.

In the aftermath of the fight, Conor Benn, who was ringside for the fight and even clashed with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero at one point, invaded the ring. The pair started trash-talking right there, sparking conversation for a potential next fight between them.

All that was left was for the opinions to pour in over social media. And that didn’t take too long, as the likes of Ryan Garcia, Damian Lillard, and others started trolling ‘The Takeover.’

Ryan Garcia explains what went wrong for Teofimo Lopez against Shakur Stevenson

The fight crossed boundaries and attracted attention from the NBA. Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard took to X, writing, “Teofimo Sr. just asked Teo, ‘What happened to your footwork?’ … aye come on man lol….. 12-0…”. In a follow-up tweet, he added, “Put that man top 3 P4P.” Stevenson currently holds the 7th spot on Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound ranking, which should change after his latest win.

Meanwhile, Ryan Garcia revealed what went wrong for Lopez. “Not a good game plan from Teofimo,” he wrote on X. From how the fight looked, Lopez could have tried a lot of things, but Stevenson just proved too slippery to catch. 

Devin Haney, however, resorted to begging. “Please, Shakur, don’t stop him.. a good friend of mine bet a lot of money on you to win a decision lmaooooo…,” Devin wrote, mocking Lopez. He added in a follow-up tweet, “Teo can’t even hit Kur..” Notably, Haney and Stevenson were in talks for a fight in 2023 when they were both in the lightweight division. However, Haney priced himself out. 

Even Haney’s father, Bill Haney, chimed in. “Shakur is beating the hell out of Teofimo in first gear,” he commented. Perhaps Bill Haney will be willing to convince his son to face Stevenson down the line. 

Alycia Baumgardner saw Teofimo’s loss coming. “Shakur dialed in. Teo [is] still trying to get there,” she wrote. In 2024, Lopez fought Jamaine Ortiz, who had a similar defensive fighting style. The result? A controversial win for Lopez. Considering that fight, Lopez never stood a chance.

Boxing legend Andre Berto broke down Lopez’s flawed game plan. “That reach [appears to be] killing Teo. His punches [are] coming up way too short every time. Shakur [is] starting to get really confident and that’s a bad thing for Teo,” Berto wrote. By the end of the fight, Stevenson was landing shots at will, but Lopez continued to miss. 

Meanwhile, Claressa Shields shared her prediction before the fight ended. “Teo [is] going to sleep, bro @DAZNBoxing,” she wrote. Shields has historically supported Stevenson’s camp. This time, things were no different. 

Amid all this, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh revealed the record-breaking numbers the event achieved. “21,324,” he wrote on X, revealing audience turnout. “A new Boxing attendance record for this version of Madison Square Garden (opened in 1968).” This record was previously held by the fight between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis in 1999, with 21,284.

Things couldn’t have turned out any better for Shakur Stevenson, and it couldn’t have been worse for Teofimo Lopez. And others have only made things worse for ‘The Takeover.’ It would be interesting to see how he bounces back from his loss. What did you think of the fight?