Amir Khan is relishing the prospect of Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson finally locking horns and has delivered his verdict ahead of their highly anticipated January 31 showdown.
Brooklyn’s Lopez will put his WBO super-lightweight title on the line at the iconic Madison Square Garden — a venue where Khan himself suffered defeat to Terence Crawford in 2019.
Two of Khan’s finest victories came at 140lbs, where he outgunned Marcos Maidana and dethroned Zab Judah, and the former unified champion previewed Lopez–Stevenson with unmistakable enthusiasm during an appearance on the Clubhouse Boxing podcast.
“What a fight!”
Asked by co-host Spencer Oliver to make his pick, Khan did not hesitate.
“Lopez.
Lopez is a very good fighter. I’ve trained with him. I’ve had him on the pads. He bangs hard. He’s a good all-round boxer — slick. A lot of people don’t give him the credit for how good of a boxer he is. He’s the type of guy that when he has to turn it up, he turns it up. And I think with someone like Shakur, he will have to turn it up big time.”
Stevenson will be stepping up to super-lightweight for the first time and last time out showcased his elite qualities in a career-defining victory over William Zepeda. Khan, however, believes there are still unanswered questions surrounding the unbeaten American.
“Shakur, we’ve not really seen him in the deep end. Look at Lopez. He’s fought the likes of Lomachenko. He’s beaten some great names on the way.”
Lopez’s victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020 transformed his career, catapulting him into boxing’s elite. A year later, however, he suffered a shock defeat to George Kambosos Jr, a setback that ushered in a period of inconsistency. That narrative was rewritten in 2023 when Lopez produced a scintillating performance to dethrone former undisputed champion Josh Taylor and capture the WBO super-lightweight title.
Lopez has not quite reached those same heights since, and with Stevenson arriving in New York at the end of January, he will once again be required to summon his very best to prove he still belongs at the top of the division.
