“He Embarrasses Fighters”: Tim Bradley Explains Why Shakur Stevenson Will Beat Lopez in 2026 and Face Ryan Garcia for Big Money

Tim Bradley believes that Shakur Stevenson is the subsequent huge star within the sport. He expects Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) to dethrone WBO mild welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez in early 2026, after which face  Ryan Garcia to make “some huge cash.”

Tim says that it doesn’t matter that Shakur has no energy and is solely a defensive fighter. He believes his type is ideal for him to grow to be the subsequent celebrity, now that Terence Crawford is nearing retirement following his career-best win over Canelo Alvarez final month.

Turki’s Highlight on Shakur

To this point, Stevenson’s type of preventing, which is an newbie point-scoring strategy, hasn’t resonated with the followers. Turki Alalshikh has given him an opportunity to be seen on a few his Riyadh Season playing cards in opposition to Josh Padley and William Zepeda.

Shakur has been saved from the guillotine by not being compelled to battle in opposition to these gifted lightweights:

Andy Cruz
Jadier Herera
Floyd Schofield
Abdullah Mason

Turki might have put Stevenson’s toes to the fireplace by insisting that he battle a type of guys relatively than letting him feast on the part-time boxer Josh Padley and Zepeda.

That’s what has stored him going thus far. Nonetheless, Stevenson is about to battle Teofimo at 140, and that may very well be the start of the top for him in getting probably knocked out or badly overwhelmed by Teofimo.

Bradley’s Prediction

“Shakur goes to be the subsequent one up. You might not assume he punches laborious sufficient, however that’s not boxing,” mentioned Tim Bradley on his channel, circling his wagons round Shakur Stevenson forward of his battle in 2026 in opposition to Teofimo Lopez.

“Shakur embarrasses fighters. He takes the whole lot away from you. He’s going to have your coach pissed off within the nook. In the event you beat him [Teofimo Lopez], I see a throwdown with Ryan Garcia. He brings some huge cash. You battle Teo, after which you’ll be able to battle Ryan. You possibly can meet him at 144,” mentioned Bradley.

Tim isn’t saying which fighter Shakur embarrassed at 135. He didn’t embarrass any of his final 4 opponents, William Zepeda, Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and Edwin De Los Santos. The final fighter that Stevenson made look dangerous was Shuichiro Yoshino in April 2023, however that was a lower-tier fighter at 135.

Nation Vegas’ Take: The Lopez Actuality Test

Yoshino didn’t belong being ranked within the prime 15, and for those who have a look at the rankings now, he’s nowhere to be seen.  The sanctioning our bodies made a mistake rating him within the prime tier within the first place. So, it’s not a giant deal that Shakur embarrassed him as a result of he wasn’t world-class.

If Stevenson goes to maintain preventing exterior of the 135-lb division, he must vacate his WBC light-weight title as a result of that may be his second consecutive battle if he faces Ryan Garcia after he challenges Teofimo Lopez in early 2026. Shakur can’t name himself the very best fighter at light-weight if he’s preventing at 140 or 144.

The Zepeda Scare Uncovered

Tim is assuming that Shakur goes to defeat Teofimo, and that will not occur. In the event you noticed how Stevenson struggled in opposition to the amount puncher William Zepeda earlier this yr on July 12, you’d have to take a look at Lopez as the favourite in opposition to him.

Shakur was arguably dropped within the third spherical by Zepeda, however the referee blew the decision by failing to rule it a knockdown. In addition to that, he took a variety of photographs from the Mexican quantity puncher and appeared beat up after the battle.

Written by Nation Vegas, Boxing Analyst masking world title fights since 2013.