Shakur Stevenson Outclasses Teofimo Lopez to Become Four-Division World Champion

Shakur Stevenson delivered a flawless, clinical performance on Saturday night, dismantling Teofimo Lopez to become a four-division world champion at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Stevenson claimed a wide unanimous decision by identical 119–109 scores across all three judges’ cards, stripping Lopez of the WBO super lightweight title and cementing his place among boxing’s elite. With the victory, Stevenson improved to 25-0 (11 KOs) and became just the 25th fighter in boxing history to win world titles in four weight classes. Appropriately, the most recent man to achieve that feat Terence Crawford was ringside supporting one of his closest friends.

Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs) was awarded just one round by the judges, the eighth, which stood out as the only frame where a legitimate case could be made in his favor. Outside of that brief moment, the fight was entirely dictated by Stevenson.

Stylistically, the matchup heavily favored Stevenson, who entered the bout ranked No. 8 on Uncrowned’s pound-for-pound list. At 28 years old, Stevenson mastered distance control, and Lopez’s strengths as a boxer-counterpuncher were neutralized almost immediately. Lopez struggled to close the gap consistently, an essential requirement against a fighter as precise and disciplined as Stevenson.

Unlike some of his previous outings, Stevenson didn’t rely on excessive movement. Instead, he stood his ground, working behind a razor-sharp jab and punishing Lopez every time he attempted to step into range. Stevenson’s right-hand counters repeatedly disrupted Lopez’s rhythm, while his southpaw left hand landed clean and often, steadily marking up Lopez’s face.

Lopez failed to make effective use of head movement or feints, frequently walking into sharp punches at mid-range. By Round 6, damage around Lopez’s left eye became evident, and Stevenson wasted no time exploiting it targeting the area with right hooks around the guard. By the championship rounds, blood poured freely from the cut.

Lopez attempted to shift momentum in the second half of the fight by investing more in body work, particularly with straight rights. Round 8 proved to be his best, as he found some success breaking Stevenson's guard and landed a pair of left hooks to the body before closing the round with a brief flurry.

Any hopes of a turnaround were short-lived. Stevenson quickly reasserted control in Round 9, returning to the same measured dominance that defined the opening seven rounds. Though Lopez continued to land sporadic body shots down the stretch, Stevenson’s counterpunching accuracy and composure never wavered. After 12 rounds, there was no doubt about the outcome—and Stevenson was already looking ahead. In his post-fight interview, the newly crowned champion called out welterweight contender Conor Benn, who had been involved in an earlier altercation with WBA welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero.

“There’s a fighter in here right now,” Stevenson said. “And he motivated me tonight too. Where’s Conor Benn? We can get it banging. I want that same rehydration clause you put on [Chris] Eubank Jr., and I want the fight.”

The co-feature delivered fireworks of its own, as Keyshawn Davis (14-0, 10 KOs) stopped Jamaine Ortiz (20-2-1, 10 KOs) in Round 12. A former WBO lightweight champion, Davis dropped Ortiz with a left hook to the body in Round 11 before sealing the finish with the same shot one round later.

Davis’ relentless body attack paid dividends late and marked a major statement in just his second fight at 140 pounds. Ortiz had previously gone the distance in close contests with both Lopez and Vasiliy Lomachenko, with many believing he deserved the nod against Lopez in their 2024 title bout.

Despite his recent move up in weight, Davis used the moment to call out WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney, signaling his ambitions across multiple divisions.

Elsewhere on the card, Brooklyn’s Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) captured the vacant WBC featherweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Carlos Castro (30-4, 14 KOs), handing New York another world champion.

Carrington dropped Castro with a thunderous overhand right before finishing him with a three-punch combination that left Castro unable to beat the count. While the finish was emphatic, the bout had been competitive early. Carrington took the opening rounds but absorbed clean right hands in the middle frames before regaining control with improved inside movement. As Castro began to fade in Round 8, Carrington sensed the opening—and capitalized decisively one round later.Saturday night at Madison Square Garden belonged to Shakur Stevenson, whose dominance raised a familiar question across the boxing world: who, if anyone, can truly challenge him next?