Two world champions are set to collide in a 140-pound title fight from New York City next year.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur Steveson will move up in weight to challenge WBO junior welterweight Teofimo Lopez on Jan. 31 in a venue yet to be announced. The fight will headline a DAZN-aired card, with details on its pay-per-view status still unannounced.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) is a three-division world champion and has held the WBC lightweight title since 2023, making three defenses including most recently against unbeaten top contender William Zepeda in July.
Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) is a former unified lightweight champion and first made the move to junior welterweight in 2022 before later claiming the WBO belt with a win over former undisputed champion Josh Taylor in June 2023. Lopez last fought against Arnold Barboza Jr. in Times Square this past May, scoring a unanimous decision win.
“I have never shied away from a challenge and always chased the biggest fights in the sport because I know I am one of the best boxers in the world," Stevenson said in a news release. "Teofimo Lopez will learn that firsthand on January 31 when I take his belt and show him that there are levels to this game. New York, get ready for a spectacular performance as I take over a fourth straight weight division.”
Here's more following the announcement of Stevenson vs. Lopez for January.
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Shakur Stevenson vs Teofimo Lopez tickets
With the venue still to be announced, tickets are not yet available for the Stevenson vs. Lopez fight card. Ticketing information is expected to be available upon confirmation of the fight venue in New York City.
Teofimo Lopez record
Teofimo Lopez is 21-1 with 13 wins by knockout.
Lopez is a two-division world champion, having formerly held the WBO, WBA and IBF lightweight titles before moving up to junior welterweight. Lopez has successfully defended his WBO 140-pound title three times, along with his Ring Magazine title, which both were won in his 2023 victory over Josh Taylor.
May 2, 2025; New York, New York, USA: Teofimo Lopez versus Arnold Barboza Jr. during their fight on The Ring Magazine‘s Fatal Fury Times Square boxing card on May 2, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom.)More: Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua fight date confirmed, rules set ahead of December bout
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementShakur Stevenson record
Shakur Stevenson is 24-0 with 11 knockouts.
Stevenson, an Olympic silver medalist, held titles at featherweight and junior lightweight before making his lightweight debut in 2023. He claimed the vacant WBC title against Edwin De Los Santos in his second fight in the division and has since defended it three times.
Stevenson is No. 9 in The Tennessean's pound-for-pound rankings.
Who did Teofimo Lopez lose to?
The lone loss of Teofimo Lopez's career came in a shock upset at the hands of George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021. The fight came just over a year after Lopez scored a career-best win over then-unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKambosos Jr. was the IBF's mandatory challenger and entered with an unbeaten record, but was a heavy underdog facing Lopez at Madison Square Garden. In the opening round of the fight Kambosos Jr. would knock Lopez to the canvas, setting the tone for a spirited fight which would see the Austrailian edge out a split decision win, despite being dropped in the 10th round.
Lopez would move up to the junior welterweight division following the defeat.
Shakur Stevenson last fight
Shakur Stevenson scored arguably the best win of his career this past July, as he defeated formerly unbeaten top contender William Zepeda by unanimous decision at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, NY.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementZepeda entered the bout with an 81.8% knockout ratio, widely considered to be the division's top non-title holder, but despite a credentialed resume Zepeda was thoroughly outboxed by Stevenson over 12 rounds, falling by scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110.
Harrison Campbell covers boxing for The Tennessean and high school sports for The Daily Herald. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Shakur Stevenson vs Teofimo Lopez next fight to take place Jan. 31 in NYC
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