Shakur Stevenson continues to find himself with a lack of opponents after defending his WBC lightweight title against William Zepeda last month. He wanted to take on WBO super lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, but the negotiations didn’t appear to head in any direction. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated shared this update on X. “There has been no progress in talks for a Teofimo Lopez-Shakur Stevenson fight, and Saudi officials are moving on,” he revealed. The culprit?

“There has been frustration with Lopez throughout the process,” Mannix added. In the meantime, though, Stevenson shared his intentions to face Lamont Roach Jr., who was overlooked by Gervonta Davis after their controversial majority draw, to fight Jake Paul in November. “The focus has shifted to finding another opponent for Stevenson, w/Lamont Roach a leading candidate,” Mannix confirmed. However, the conversation might not be over for a Lopez fight just yet.

Earlier today, Teofimo Lopez hopped on X to address the fight with Stevenson and asked a specific question, while also revealing his only condition for the fight. “What up, Gansta. ✍️ 140 [Shakur Stevenson],” Lopez wrote, asking Stevenson whether he wants to climb a weight class to make the fight happen. Shakur Stevenson, who has been fighting at lightweight since April 2023, wasn’t happy but quickly responded to the tweet. “😈😈😈,” Stevenson wrote, angrily agreeing to the matchup. Regardless, this fight is unlikely to unfold this year. 

The thing is, just a few days ago, Brunch Boxing tweeted, claiming Roach Jr. told them that Stevenson was out for the rest of 2025. Stevenson caught wind of it and responded, “Lamont was getting ready for the rematch, so he [is going to] have [an] in-between fight and then fight me top of the year.. But it’s only if Teo doesn’t accept the fight, tho,” Stevenson wrote back. Lopez saw this and claimed, “I’ve already accepted the fight! I’ll see you [at] the beginning of the year.” The fight’s destiny became even more evident from Lopez’s other tweets. 

Addressing the Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis exhibition fight, he claimed he wanted to be part of the event in an exhibition fight on the undercard. “I’d love to fight on their card as another exhibition! I believe it’d be fun and historical,” he wrote back, confirming his intentions to fight Stevenson next year. Regardless, whenever the fight happens, the question is, can Stevenson beat Lopez at super lightweight? If what this world champion claims is true, it could be difficult.

O’Shaquie Foster claims he overwhelmed Shakur Stevenson during sparring

Shakur Stevenson is no stranger to praise for his boxing skills, especially with the sort of performance he showcased in the William Zepeda fight. However, O’Shaquie Foster, the current WBC super featherweight champion, claims Stevenson might not be as brilliant when the cameras aren’t rolling.

He recently recalled a sparring session with Stevenson on the Cigar Talk podcast, claiming he once forced him out of the ring. “Literally bro, we were sparring every day, I was going to the clubs, I was out there all night, his people know I was at some of their clubs coming in, sparring them… I mean 9 in the morning, I’m coming in at 5,” Foster said.

He added, “That heat got on his a–… he got ran out of the gym, and this was a Friday, he ran out the ring, he didn’t want no more, I guess it got too hot.”

From the looks of things, a fight between Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez isn’t quite dead yet. However, when this fight may happen is up in the air. On top of that, it what Foster said is true, Stevenson may face some issues beating Lopez at super lightweight. Do you think Stevenson can beat Lopez?