While the betting lines should soothe Shakur Stevenson, the very thought of losing a bout leaves him jittery. Despite moving up a division, the Olympic silver medalist – a three-division champion – remains the heavy favorite to topple WBO and The Ring light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez.

As he steps into the most critical fight of his professional career, he can’t shake memories of his 2016 Olympic loss. A split decision cost Shakur Stevenson a gold – no American man had won one since Andre Ward in Athens. Images of him crying after Cuba’s Robeisy Ramírez defeated him also bring to mind a similar moment in 1996, when a young Floyd Mayweather faced a controversial loss and was left with bronze.

The fear that fuels Shakur Stevenson

Stevenson revealed how the prospect of losing remains unsettling. “I think my trauma is like losing,” he said in an interview. “I don’t want to ever lose; that’s like a trauma for me.” The interviewer wondered how he would react in that situation – if he were to lose a fight, would he cry or do something reckless?

That immediately took Stevenson back to his Olympic days. “When I lost in the Olympics, that’s what got me crying,” he added. The clip, when Chris Mannix asked about his emotions after he lost the final to Ramírez, went viral. Even then, Stevenson reiterated how much he dislikes losing a fight.

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While smiling at his emotional low point, Stevenson recalled how losing a fight that was well within his grasp affected him deeply. “Honestly, I think like losing is my biggest pet peeve. ” But the experience made him even stronger. “I work so hard to make sure that sh*t don’t happen,” he added.

While he has yet to suffer a setback, a noticeable shift sees him offer respect to anyone who hands him his first defeat. “If you go against me and you beat me…you are a bad mother f**ker,” Stevenson said.

After Teofimo: Stevenson already planning the next big fight

However, the risk of suffering his first loss looms large because the upcoming fight pits Stevenson against an equally sharp and technically gifted boxer, who remains one of the sport’s most unpredictable performers.

Eddie Hearn, who is promoting the fight with Top Rank’s Bob Arum, believes it is a 50-50 affair. “I think it’s a fight that could be a little bit of a chess match early on. You have two guys who are very reactive, super sharp, feint and set traps, and with tremendous boxing IQ and footwork,” he said.

But Stevenson remains confident. To that end, he is already talking about a move after the Teofimo fight. In a DAZN interview, he said that he does not want to relinquish his current WBC lightweight title. After he defeats Teofimo, he would rather move back down and pursue a title unification. Only another big fight would convince him to stay at 140 pounds.

A unification fight at 135 pounds would mean a potential matchup against entrenched IBF champion Raymond Muratalla, who defeated top contender Andy Cruz in a Fight of the Year contender yesterday, and Stevenson seems on board with the prospect.