Keith Idec
12 hrs ago
5 min read
NEW YORK – Teofimo Lopez is 28, in the heart of his physical prime, the same age as Shakur Stevenson.
He lost only once, won Ring championships in two divisions and seemingly still has a lot of elite-level boxing in front of him. Lopez looks at his fascinating showdown with Stevenson on Saturday night, though, as a fight that will make or break his career.
Even if he were to lose decisively to one of the top technicians in the sport, Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) would remain one of the boxing business’ biggest stars, a rare attraction capable of helping sell out Madison Square Garden for the right fight. He would obviously lose leverage, but he would still own wins over unified champions Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor and could come back sometime in the summer to begin rebuilding toward another big fight.
It’s unclear why, then, a cryptic Lopez considers these desperate times.
“He’s still WBC champion at [the] lightweight division,” Lopez told The Ring. “I’m just gonna bring him back down. That’s all it is. But he doesn’t lose anything. He loses to me, OK, that’s one thing. But he still has his safety net. That’s the WBC world title. He’s still world champion. So, it’s not like it’s a lose-lose for him.
“It’s more like a, 'We tried and we win no matter what.’ For Teofimo, my end, it’s different, far different. My career is at stake. Not the fight, my career. Far different, guys. Way different. That’s a different type of ballgame. But I wouldn’t be in this position if God almighty didn’t believe I could do it.”
Lopez, The Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion, wouldn’t elaborate on why he thinks his career is at stake in a fight Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) is favored to win.
“It’s just what it is,” Lopez said. “I can’t tap into that avenue. But just know it’s what it is. But I prefer it. That’s what creates the will of a fighter. You have to have more will than skills at moments like this. And we’re here.”
Besmirched Miller Back At MSG
Jarrell Miller and Eddie Hearn embraced Thursday on stage at Madison Square Garden, something neither of them would’ve predicted a few years ago.
Almost seven years have passed since Miller tested positive for four performance-enhancing drugs and blew his shot at then-undefeated, unified heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua. Hearn vowed never to work with Miller after the brash Brooklyn native sabotaged the event and left Joshua to face a replacement, Andy Ruiz, who upset him by seventh-round TKO.
Miller, 37, expressed gratitude, yet also comically complained during the press conference about duplicitous promoters not keeping their word. That’s an interesting take from someone who has failed more PED tests than should be allowed before being permanently banned from boxing.
Nonetheless, Miller (26-1-2, 22 KOs) will end a 17-month layoff against hard-hitting Nigerian Kingsley Ibeh (16-2-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round fight DAZN will stream before the pay-per-view/Ultimate plan portion of “The Ring 6” card begins.
For Those Keeping Score
Lopez versus Stevenson is likely to last all 12 rounds.
Lopez’s past five fights and seven of his last eight have gone the distance. Stevenson has boxed 12 rounds in five of his most recent seven appearances.
Assuming this trend continues, it’s worth noting that two of three judges assigned to their fight – Max De Luca and Eric Marlinski – scored Lopez’s easy victory over Arnold Barboza closer than it seemed, 116-112 apiece. David Sutherland’s score, 118-110, was more reflective of what occurred May 2 on The Ring’s card at Times Square in New York.
Steve Weisfeld, the third judge assigned to Saturday's main event, credited Lopez with a 117-111 victory over Jamaine Ortiz. Sutherland and Tim Cheatham gave Ortiz more credit for pushing Lopez by scoring the action 115-113 apiece.
The Final Bell
- It’s ironic that Bakhram Murtazaliev, who made millions for taking step-aside fees for low-profile fights on PBC undercards, has been as inactive as many PBC-affiliated fighters since he tore through Tim Tszyu 15 months ago. His handlers hope Russia’s Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) can re-establish some momentum when he ends his lengthy layoff against England’s Josh Kelly (17-1-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday night in Newcastle. Australia’s Tszyu (26-3, 18 KOs) has fought three times since Murtazaliev dropped him four times and beat him by third-round TKO in October 2024.
- Bob Arum’s Top Rank will unintentionally compete against itself Saturday night. The company’s main event in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Xander Zayas versus Abass Baraou, is set to begin at approximately 10 p.m. ET and figures to be streamed around the same time on one of its FAST channels as an interesting fight involving another of Arum’s unbeaten boxers, Keyshawn Davis, who will meet Jamaine Ortiz in “The Ring 6” co-feature at Madison Square Garden. The Zayas-Baraou card was announced well before “The Ring 6,” which left Top Rank in this precarious position.
- You have to admire the audacity of William Scull’s handlers for scheduling his return from literally running circles around Canelo Alvarez on what will probably be the most stacked day on the boxing calendar in 2026. Cuba’s Scull (23-1, 9 KOs) will box Jacob Bank (17-0, 9 KOs) on Saturday night in Kolding, Denmark, Bank’s hometown.
- Raymond Muratalla demonstrated last weekend just how underrated he was when Andy Cruz was installed as a favorite to take his IBF 135-pound crown. The mental and physical pressure Muratalla (24-0, 17 KOs) promised would be the difference in their bout prohibited Cuba’s Cruz (6-1, 3 KOs) from building any momentum. Muratalla’s size and strength were of course factors, but his consistent approach and subtle skills against such a technically proficient opponent proved that he is more than just a lightweight titleholder.
- After coming in almost eight pounds overweight a week ago and producing a pedestrian performance against 36-year-old Jesse Hart the next night, Khalil Coe must be out of chances with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, right?
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing
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