There was a time in American boxing history when Saturday’s fight at Madison Square Garden, between Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson, would have been a very big deal.
In the Eighties and Nineties, a succession of great American fighters dominated the sport, filled arenas, made millions of dollars and were popular; those glory days for the American business are long gone. The appeal and worth of both American boxers and the boxing business stateside have been diluted, by the arrival and dominance of fighters from the Eastern Bloc and, during the last three years, the opening of Saudi Arabia’s deep chest of gold.
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Lopez and Stevenson would have fit right in at any point in those two electric decades, fit right in on nights when Marvin Hagler, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns ran the show. They were boxing; they were giants in an industry looking for a replacement to the dearly departed heavyweight kings of the Seventies.
Stevenson is still only 28, unbeaten in just 24 fights, but he has already won world titles at three weights and will try for a fourth against Lopez. Lopez will enter the ring with just one loss in 23 fights, a world champion now at two weights and the same age as Shakur.
It is too lazy to call it a ‘super-fight’, but there are certainly elements: their records, they are both in their primes and, obviously, the evocative venue of the Garden in New York City.
Stevenson is moving up from lightweight to challenge for Lopez’s WBO super-lightweight title, and hopefully, it will start a much-needed renaissance in the American boxing world. There are a lot of fights available to the winner; a lot of names circulating inside a distance of four or five pounds.
Shakur Stevenson (right) is unbeaten and eyeing a world title at a fourth weight (Getty Images)
The winner, in short, leads the charge of the American boxing cavalry for the year. There are other big American fights and they could get made. There is always money; the Saudi cash is still there.
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Lopez has been on an uneven boxing journey in many ways. He wins well when he has the odds stacked against him, and then he too easily drifts away when he lacks the urgency that comes with the threat of defeat. He was brilliant in a lightweight defence against Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020 and then lost on points to the rugged Australian George Kambosos Jr in his next fight. Kambosos was inspired that night against Lopez, who looked like he was fighting and losing a battle with his own personal demons.
In 2023, Lopez beat Josh Taylor on another night when he looked quality; he has fought and won three times since that evening and has not always looked brilliant. It often looks like he would rather be anywhere else than in the ring making millions, and in boxing – at this level – that is a disturbing look. He has often questioned his own ability and commitment to the sport.
Teofimo Lopez is a supremely talented boxer but a divisive figure in the sport (Getty Images)
And what of his opponent this weekend? Last summer, there was a glorious glimpse of an alternative Stevenson.
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He was matched in a world title fight with unbeaten and heavy-fisted Mexican William Zepeda, outdoors at Flushing Meadows in New York. Stevenson took risks on the night, boxed smart and aggressive, and it was close to a shutout after 12 rounds. It was the type of fight that Stevenson needed, a fight to show he is more than just a fast and pretty boxer. In all fairness, he is seven years older and 14lb heavier now than he was when he first won a world title. Hopefully, this is the new Stevenson.
On Saturday they will come together, the talking will be over, the WBO super-lightweight belt will be ringside, and everybody knows that is a side issue; this is a fight for the future of American boxing in many ways. The best Lopez can beat Stevenson, but it is far more likely that the new Stevenson beats Lopez. Either way, a decisive win is good for business.