On The Watch “It’s All About Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson”

WBO Junior Welterweight Challenge

Last night’s Ring Magazine/DAZN Main Event between WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (22-2, 13 Kos) and WBC Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (25-0, 11 Kos) was a one-sided affair that favoured the challenger who was moving up in weight at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Real Talk!

Solving the puzzle that Shakur presented is a tough task but entering that squared circle opposite of him without a full proof “game plan” with different options to go along with is diabolical and that is exactly what Teofimo did on the night.

Judging from the first few rounds it was clear that Teofimo and his dad had absolutely no clue on how to break the Shakur Stevenson code. Shakur did say that this was going to be easy work but what transpired was just unexpected pure dominance.

Teofimo looked lost from the jump even when Shakur made it easy for him by standing right in front of him jabbing his head off with an accurate punch that couldn’t miss the target. Shakur showed Teofimo absolutely no respect and no fear as he boxed circles around him round by round.

Shakur systematically disarmed Teofimo with such ease inside that squared circle that it was painful to watch such a decorated champion in Teofimo be humiliated and humbled after talking all that sh*t towards the build-up of this bout and not be able to back any word of it. Real Talk!

Shakur showed us another facet in his arsenal and the boxing IQ needed to always be able to raise the levels when being tested by the so called best.

After 12 rounds of one-sided action, the Judges at hand had absolutely no problem scoring this bout unanimously 119-109 in favor of Shakur Stevenson.

With this impressive performance, Shakur singlehandedly elevated his star status to Superstar on the come up and snatched the WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Championship titles from Teofimo in the process, crowning him a Four-Division Champion.

Well done, Champ!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson”

WBO Junior Welterweight Challenge

A very intriguing matchup in the Junior Welterweight Division has officially been announced concerning the WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight Champion Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 Kos) and WBC Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 Kos), who will be moving up in weight for this challenge to the 140-Pound Division on the Ring VI card as the Main Event on Saturday January 31, 2026, in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Both combatants consider themselves elite warriors who are at their utmost prime of their respective careers, willing to lay it all on the line to determine who truly is the best of the best. Skill for skill, both combatants have the goods to cancel each other out, but trash talk aside they will have to settle their differences inside that squared circle.

As of right now, the odd makers don’t see this bout as a 50/50 and favor Shakur the defensive genius to upset the Champion. As much as Teofimo relishes the thought of being the underdog, he will have to execute a flawless “game plan” and be focussed from start to finish to defeat Shakur because one slip up in this bout could cost him dearly.

I have no doubt Shakur will be properly prepared to deal with Teofimo’s style, but it will be interesting to see just how well prepared Teofimo is to deal with this defensive wizard of an opponent on fight night. Style wise Shakur is all wrong for Teofimo but he’s been tested before and prevailed when counted out.

Tune in Saturday night January 31, 2026, live on DAZN from Madison Square Garden in New York City and witness this electrifying Championship bout unfold.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda”

WBC Lightweight Showdown

In the Co-Main Event on last night’s Ring III card, WBC Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 Kos) silenced all the naysayers and detractors with an impressive performance when he took on heavy-headed, undefeated William Zepeda (33-1, 27 Kos) and challenged him at his own game at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City.

Everyone in the building expected Shakur, primarily known as a defensive fighter to play spoiler against an offensive machine-like Zepeda but what transpired was the complete opposite as Shakur came in this bout guns blazing. Shakur stood his ground and fought toe-to-toe with the pressure fighter and proved to be quite formidable banging back and forth with the known bully Zepeda.

Zepeda was his usual self and throwing punches in bunches but to his disbelief Shakur was right there pinpointing accurate shots right back at him at a higher-than-normal clip. It was a very competitive and entertaining bout despite what the critics in attendance were proclaiming.

Shakur was in a serious fight where the pressure was real and coming at him in an abundance of speed and pace. Shakur weathered the storm and asserted himself quite well under the nonstop pressure to the point where it was Zepeda who had to slow down his own punch output in the later rounds because Shakur showed levels above Zepeda in the later rounds of the bout.

Although Shakur is not known for having heavy hands, Zepeda had no choice but to respect what was coming at him. Shakur’s punches were precise, affective and consistent round after round.

After 12 rounds of engaging action, the Judges at hand scored it 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110 unanimously for Shakur Stevenson. Personally, I think this score card does not do William Zepeda any justice but I have no problem with Shakur walking away the winner and retaining his    WBC Lightweight Championship Title.

Well done, Champ, point taken!

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Shakur Stevenson vs Shuichiro Yoshino”

Lightweight WBC Eliminator

Last night’s Top Rank/ESPN + Main Event between former Two-Division Champion Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 Kos) and Shuichiro Yoshino (16-1, 12 Kos) was quite an impressive introduction that Shakur needed to announce himself to the world in the 135-Pound Division in his own backyard at the Prudential Center in Newark Newark, N.J.

The hard-hitting Yoshino did not expect to deal with this version of Stevenson inside that squared circle. It didn’t take long to notice that Shakur was the stronger combatant of the night. This version of Shakur was fiercer and aggressive with a come forward style of offense that only comes out from time to time and last night, Stevenson was on full display from all angle.

I personally expected Shakur to deal with some type of resistance but every time Yoshino attempted to press the action, he was at the receiving end of Shakur’s able ready heavy shots that eventually dropped him in the second and fourth round for a quick 8 count.

Stevenson uncharacteristically stood his ground from the jump and bullied the supposedly stronger combatant round after round and eventually breaking him down to the point where the referee saw no other option but to halt the bout saving Yoshino from any further unnecessary abuse in the sixth round.

With this very convincing win now under his belt, Shakur has officially put the Lightweight Division on notice. He personally called out the Undefeated Undisputed Lightweight Champion Devin Haney, since this win was a WBC title eliminator placing him in route to an inevitable showdown with the Champ.

Shakur is looking for that smoke and will not be denied.

Until then, congratulations Shakur on a very impressive win.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Shakur Stevenson vs Robsen Conceicao”


WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Lightweight Championship

Last night’s Top Rank/ESPN Main Event between former WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 Kos) and Robsen Conceicao (17-2, 8 Kos) was simply a showcase type of an event for the homegrown combatant Shakur at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

Due to Shakur missing weight for the contested bout of 130 pounds, Shakur was stripped of his WBC/WBO/Ring Magazine Junior Lightweight Championship belts and was unable to defend them as Champion.

That being said, the bout continued as planned and Shakur proceeded to put on a hell of a performance in front of his hometown fans by easily dismantling his opponent like it was a sparring session.

No disrespect to Robson, who is a highly decorated Olympian and a very worthy opponent for Shakur, fell miserably short in his second attempt at a potential title opportunity.

What looked good on paper turned out to be a mismatch from start to finish. Robson simply did not have the right “game plan” to take such a skillful combatant like Shakur.

Shakur’s surprising approach was to walk down and go through Robson’s offense with ease. Shakur hardly moved around the ring as he usually does and instead stood his ground going toe to toe administering non- contested punches to his opponent at will. That approach took Conceicao by surprise and left him bewildered and confused throughout the entire bout.

Whatever Conceicao did manage to land on Shakur had absolutely no effect whatsoever in deterring the Champ from having his way inside that squared circle. Shakur’s dominance from start to finish was impressive. Although Shakur was unable to stop Conceicao within the 12-round bout, his total dominance of his opponent could not be denied. Shakur was simply too big, too strong, too savvy inside that squared circle.

The Judges for the night had absolutely no trouble in scoring this bout 119-108, 118-108 and 117-109 unanimously for Shakur Stevenson.

Another easy night for the Kid – now on to new challenges at the 135-Pound Division.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Shakur Stevenson vs Oscar Valdez”

WBC/WBO Super Featherweight Unification Championship

Last night’s Top Rank’s Main Event Unification bout between WBO Super Featherweight Champion Shakur Stevenson (18-0, 9 Kos) and WBC Super Featherweight Champion Oscar Valdez (30-2, 23 Kos) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, was a clinical beatdown bestowed by Shakur on the biggest night of his career to date. Real Talk!

Shakur’s boxing IQ was on full display last night. I was expecting Shakur to box and move all night but instead Shakur stood his ground right from the jump and patiently dismantled his opponent round by round with a stiff powerful jab that couldn’t miss or be deterred by Valdez, who was stuck all night clueless behind an ineffective high guard that left his face visibly touched up at the end of the night.

Shakur walked it like he talked it and shut down Valdez who looked defeated as the rounds progressed. Valdez was unable to stop Shakur from having his way inside that squared circle. Valdez’s “game plan” or lack thereof was non-existent. Valdez looked lost inside that squared circle with absolutely no guidance from his corner. Unbelievable.


Shakur was always two steps ahead of Valdez all night. Stevenson stood his ground and beat the power puncher at his own game. After 12 full rounds of schooling, the Judges scored it 118-109, 118-109 and 117 110 all in favor of Shakur Stevenson.

With this convincing win by Shakur, he is now the new WBO/WBC and newly acquired Ring Magazine Unified Super Featherweight Champion of the World.

With the way Shakur made this bout look so effortless, I can’t see anybody beating this kid in the 130-Pound Division. Real Talk! The road to undisputed just got clearer for Shakur. Good luck to the competition.

Congratulations Shakur on your latest triumph.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Jamel Herring vs Shakur Stevenson”

WBO Junior Lightweight Challenge

Last night’s Top Rank Main Event at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta between WBO Junior Lightweight Champion Jamel Herring (23-3, 11 Kos) and Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 Kos) became a showcase type bout for the youngin dubbed the “Fearless”.

Shakur had seek and destroy written all over his face right from jump. Shakur showed Jamel absolutely no respect and continued to apply nonstop pressure with quick and strong punches from head to body.

Whatever “game plan” Jamel’s team came up with was none-existing for the simple fact that Shakur was just too strong and too fast for Jamel to content with. No disrespect to Jamel but the unusual stay in the pocket style that Shakur applied for this bout completely took Jamel by surprise and made him gun shy and unable to counterpunch when he needed to.

That being said, the “Fearless” did just that and showed absolutely no fear towards his opponent and proceeded to completely dismantle the older but more experienced Champion piece by piece.

By the 10th round the inevitable was seconds away. Jamel looked tired and beaten sitting there taking punishment without fighting back. The referee had seen enough and jumped in to stop the unanswered onslaught on Jamel.

This was the type of performance Shakur needed to bring inside that squared circle to silence the critics who doubted him. He fought toe to toe and banged on his opponent in a very dominant fashion.

With this impressive win over Jamel, Shakur now becomes a two weight Division Champion and the New WBO Junior Lightweight Champion of the World.

Congratulations Shakur on your latest achievement – now on to a unification bout.

Blaze

On The Watch “It’s All About Shakur Stevenson vs Jeremiah Nakathila”

WBO Interim Junior Lightweight Championship

Last night’s Main Event between Shakur Stevenson (16-0, 8 Kos) and Jeremiah Nakathila (21-2, 17 Kos) at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Nevada was another example of how defensively minded Shakur can be when met with an opponent with serious power. Real Talk!

Jeremiah was supposed to be a real tough test for Shakur and was coming off a 10-fight knockout winning streak. Jeremiah had envisioned putting them paws all over Stevenson’s face but was met with a superior opponent for the first time inside that squared circle.

As good and strong as Jeremiah was, he was clearly outmatched by the younger Stevenson who was elusive and untouchable the entire bout. This bout definitely wasn’t fan friendly to watch but one has to admire the ring generalship Shakur possesses at such a young age.

Jeremiah had absolutely no proper “game plan” to disrupt Shakur’s steady attack. Jeremiah’s frustration was becoming more and more visible as the rounds progressed. His desperate actions made him exposed and susceptible in the fifth round and got caught with a right hook to the chin that dropped him for a quick eight count near the end of the round.

Stevenson showed he was levels above Jeremiah throughout the entire bout of so-called action. Shakur’s defence was impeccable. Had he would have pressed the action and closed the show, the fans in attendance would have been more appreciative of his talent.

That being said, after 12 full rounds of action, the Judges scored it 120-107 unanimously in favor of Shakur Stevenson. With this win, Shakur is now the WBO Interim Junior Lightweight Champion of the World and mandatory challenger to the full WBO Junior Lightweight Champion Jamel Herring (23-2, 11 Kos).

Being that Stevenson may have the option to confront WBC Junior Lightweight Champion Oscar Valdez (29-0, 20 Kos), I can surely anticipate a much better competitive and entertaining bout regardless of which Champion Shakur decides to challenge.

Until then, congratulations on your latest win Shakur.

Blaze