Claressa Shields has issued a warning to Teofimo Lopez ahead of his highly anticipated WBO super-lightweight title defence against Shakur Stevenson.
Last week Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) and Stevenson (24-0, 11 KO)s) went face to face at the first press conference for their January 31 showdown at Madison Square Garden. Stevenson enters the contest aiming to become a four-weight world champion, while Lopez will again look to prove that when he faces elite opposition — as he did against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor — he delivers his best.
Shields, a five-division world champion and one of the finest fighters of her generation, returns to the ring on February 22 when she defends her undisputed heavyweight title against Franchon Crews-Dezurn in Detroit. The 30-year-old self-proclaimed G.W.O.A.T was in attendance at the Lopez–Stevenson press conference and offered her prediction to Fighthype.
“My thoughts is that’s going to be a very competitive fight. I think that Teo is very athletic. He’s very experienced. But Shakur is the man. Shakur is hard to beat. He’s skilled. The dude got power. He can fight any style. He’s a thinker. He’s five steps ahead of you. Whatever you thinking you going to do, Shakur five steps ahead of you.”
While Stevenson is not known as a prolific puncher, Shields reminded Lopez that complacency could prove costly against the unbeaten New Jersey native.
“I feel like Shakur is going to come out on top. He’s going to win. And hopefully Teo don’t have his hands down and get caught slipping because Shakur has been showing some power.”
Stevenson has stopped 11 of his 24 opponents for a 46 per cent knockout ratio, while Lopez’s stands slightly higher at 59 per cent.
