Russell states that he trained with Stevenson in the past and studied his game, noting what things he has problems with. He saw that he’s comfortable when he’s taking the lead, “dictating the action.” Shakur is learning how to fight in the pocket, but still isn’t comfortable with pressure, especially with combination punching.
In Shakur’s last fight against William Zepeda, he looked vulnerable when he was getting hit with threes and fours by the Mexican volume puncher. He fought better when there was only one punch at a time coming from Zepeda.
“If he’s in shape and his game plan is the first five or six rounds, ‘Whenever I close the distance, I’m touching him with threes and fours,’ it’ll make Shakur be on the defensive,” said Gary Russell to MillCity Boxing about how Teofimo Lopez can beat Shakur Stevenson.
What could be a problem for Teofimo is if Shakur moves like he did against Edwin De Los Santos. If he fights like that, staying on his bike for 12 rounds, it’ll be hard for Teo to land his punches. He’ll have to pressure Stevenson as he did against Jamaine Ortiz and Lomachenko to connect.
“Shakur is trying to get a little more comfortable fighting in the pocket, but he’s more of a boxer. He likes to dictate the action. When you’re bringing that s*** to him and giving him something to think about, now you’re getting somewhere,” said Russell.
Stevenson never looked comfortable fighting in the pocket against Zepeda. He was getting hit with body shots the entire night, and he took enough punches to the head to swell his cheeks and bloody his lips. He took more punishment than Zepeda, who threw close to 1,000 punches. Many of them were to the body.
“I don’t believe he has to hurt Shakur to win the fight. He just has to have a certain level of aggression, and his approach has to be direct,” said Russell.
Lopez has got to put pressure on, throw combinations, and not let Stevenson move around uncontested. The punches that Teofimo does land, they’ll need to be to the head because he may not get credit if he throws mostly body shots.
“Close the distance, and as soon as you get in range, slip, boom, boom, boom—every time—two, three, four, boom, boom, boom. Stick a jab on him. Put a stick on him and keep closing. What that’s going to do is make Shakur look hesitant,” said Russell.
When De Los Santos closed the distance, Shakur always escaped. In one instance, he jumped to escape. The image turned into a meme because it looked so bad. He wanted no part of standing in the pocket against De Los Santos.
Lopez will need to cut off the ring and use quick feet to stay with Stevenson because he already said that he’s not going to fight in the pocket again after the Zepeda fight, because he got hit too much.
Nation Vegas has been writing on the fight game since 2012 and is now a featured writer with Boxing News 24. Over the years, he has built a reputation for strong coverage of both major events and rising prospects, delivering news, fight reports, and feature commentary that connect with fans worldwide. Known for his crisp, energetic style, Nation brings a fan-first perspective with the sharp analysis of a seasoned observer of the sport.
