02/01/26 12:38:00
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02/01 00:36 CST Shakur Stevenson dominates Teofimo Lopez to become a 4-division
champion
Shakur Stevenson dominates Teofimo Lopez to become a 4-division champion
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Shakur Stevenson dominated Teofimo Lopez to win a title in a
fourth weight class, taking a unanimous decision Saturday night to capture the
WBO junior welterweight belt.
The unbeaten Stevenson (25-0) was in control the whole way, hardly getting hit
in the early rounds and opening a cut over Lopez's left eye later in the bout.
All three judges scored the fight 119-109, giving just one round to Lopez.
"I picked him apart, I did what I was supposed to do," Stevenson said.
Lopez (22-2) tried to press the action, but too often all that accomplished was
leaving himself open to Stevenson's counter punches.
The current WBC lightweight champion added the 140-pound belt that Lopez held
and will be tough to beat no matter which weight class he opts to remain in.
The sold-out crowd that roared for both local fighters in the minutes before
the bout didn't have many chances to get loud once it began. It was clear early
that Stevenson's style, effective but not especially exciting, was going to
control the fight.
Unable to match what might be Stevenson's best-in-boxing foot speed, Lopez was
often forced to lunge forward in hopes of connecting, putting himself at risk
for shots that came back faster and even most times harder. The area around his
left eye was red by the eighth round and blood streamed down his face after a
cut opened in the 10th.
Stevenson entered the ring and reunited with Terence Crawford, the retired
multi-division champion who is an adviser to the Newark, New Jersey, fighter.
There was then a lengthy wait before Lopez's ring walk turned into a dance
performance, as he was joined by the Jabbawockeez.
Lopez kept up with them better than with Stevenson.
The Brooklyn product came aggressively out of his corner when the fight began,
but Stevenson was mostly able to keep him from getting close enough to land
much and soon began to find openings to score with lefts. He knocked Lopez off
balance with one of them in the fourth round, caught him right on the chin with
a couple of right jabs in the sixth, and by then it was becoming no longer a
question if Lopez would win the fight but if he would even win a round.
Stevenson was better than a 3-to-1 favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, but
two of Lopez's finest performances had come as the underdog in title fights.
The first came when he beat Vasiliy Lomachenko in a 135-pound bout in 2020, and
he knocked off former undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor in 2023.
But Stevenson might be in a different class than even those greats. He also has
held belts at featherweight and super featherweight with his top defensive
skills and just as much offense as he needs.
It was a good night for Brooklyn boxers earlier in the event.
Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) won the WBC featherweight title by
knocking out Carlos Castro in the ninth round. Heavyweight Jarrell Miller
overcame a mid-fight hair misfunction to edge Kingsley Ibeh by split decision
and improve to 27-1.
Ibeh landed a flurry of shots in the second round and one knocked Miller's head
backward, and his hairpiece popped upward from the front, revealing a large
bald spot that covered most of his head.
Miller finished the round with the hairpiece, then ripped it off in his corner
between rounds and tossed it into the crowd.
Also, former lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis (14-0, 10 KOs) made an
impressive move up to 140 pounds, knocking Jamaine Ortiz down twice and
stopping him in the 12th round. Davis then indicated he wants to move up again
to face welterweight champion Devin Haney.
___
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
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