Shakur Stevenson is unsure that Teofimo Lopez has taken enough accountability to right the wrongs of his last performance and dethrone Rolando Romero.
The 29-year-old will attempt to become a three-weight world champion this weekend, having previously cemented himself as the top dog at 135 and 140lbs.
In both of those divisions, Lopez defined his reigns by respectively outpointing Vasyl Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, with such title-winning performances offering the impression of a generational talent.
Unfortunately, though, ‘The Takeover’ has been unable to sustain his brilliance to the extent that fans are already clamouring for him to join the Hall of Fame.
In his last outing, for instance, Lopez lost a wide unanimous decision to Stevenson who, while a sublime technician, was hardly expected to win in such dominant fashion.
Romero, meanwhile, is making a first defence of his WBA welterweight title at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena after having not fought since outpointing Ryan Garcia.
Back then, in May 2025, ‘Rolly’ pulled off a sizable upset to drop and unanimously outscore his man, before eventually being upgraded from ‘regular’ to full champion.
In terms of a prediction, however, Stevenson had told FightHype that Lopez should ultimately have the skills to emerge victorious.
“Teo’s a great fighter. Even now, if I know the Teo that’s supposed to go out there and do what he been doing, he should beat Rolly.
“I think Rolly, mentally, is a tougher dude than a lot of people know and expect; I think Rolly is a smarter dude than a lot of people know and expect.
“But I think Teo should be on another level. When big punchers get in front of him, he makes them look silly.
“My only thing with Teo is that I don’t think he took much accountability after I fought him.”
While backing his former opponent to get the job done, Stevenson is clearly uncertain that Lopez has rectified the mistakes he made in their January encounter.
