This weekend, Shakur Stevenson attempts to dethrone Teofimo Lopez in the super-lightweight division and his good friend, Keyshawn Davis, has now changed his mind on how he thinks the fight will play out.
Stevenson has reigned at each of featherweight, super-featherweight and lightweight, but the undefeated Newark-born sensation is set for his toughest test to date, up against the arguable standout fighter of the 140lb division.
Just three weeks ago, Keyshawn Davis admitted that Lopez could get the better of Stevenson, despite his friendship with the reigning WBC lightweight world champion.
“I see it starting off slow and then I see as Shakur wins the first round, as Shakur wins the second round, slowly I think that Teofimo is going to start picking it up and start imposing his will and it’s just going to go from there. That is how I think it is going to go … One thing I can say, though, Teo can fight.”
However, after witnessing Stevenson’s preparation first hand, ‘The Businessman’ has u-turned on his prediction for the contest, telling Fight Hub TV that the 28-year-old could hand Lopez a first stoppage defeat.
“I think that Shakur has got a good possibility of stopping Teofimo, because of how dominant he has been in this camp.
“His focus level [has improved], he has taken it a lot more serious. I’m not saying that he didn’t in his other camps, but he has taken this fight a lot more serious and he has got a chance of stopping Teo, for sure.”
Davis appears on the undercard on Saturday night, as he is tasked with Jamaine Ortiz in a super-lightweight scrap of his own on the Madison Square Garden bill.
