Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson: Recognition, Praise, and Glory

 

By: Sal Arteaga – 01/10/2026

 

Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) is set to defend his WBO and Ring junior welterweight titles against Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) in an epic battle at the mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden on Saturday, January 31. The fight will be a high-level chess match between two elite fighters. Lopez is a two-weight lineal world champion whose defeated the likes of Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor. In Stevenson you have arguably the best technical boxer in the sport today, a 3-division world champion who seeks to capture a title in his fourth weight class.

 

Both fighters are in search of greatness, and both know greatness comes from facing elite level competition. The winner of this match will receive the recognition, praise, and glory they’ve been in search of. To win though, both will have to overcome the biggest challenge of their respective career. For Teo, he’ll be facing the boxing style that’s posed the most difficult for him—the elusive, agile, mobile boxer who knows how to control distance and range. In Shakur he finds the master defensive boxer who seemingly does it the best. In his matches against Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz, Teo struggled to cut the ring off and was limited offensively.

 

Jamaine outlanded Teo in 5 rounds and overall landed 2 more punches in the match, 80 to 78. Stevenson will look to outpoint Lopez by controlling the range—appearing to be within striking distance and then gracefully stepping out of range. It’s an artform Stevenson has mastered: hit and not get hit. He has the best plus-minus in boxing at 20.2 (Compubox). The plus-minus metric measures the difference in punches landed to those absorbed, meaning Shakur significantly outlands his opponents. Teo is entering his seventh match at junior welterweight; he'll be the strongest, most skilled boxer Shakur has faced up to now. Lopez is great on the inside but to be truly effective he’ll have to find a way to time Shakur and catch him when he’s in range—easier said than done due to Stevenson’s speed, agility, and surgical precision.

 

A master boxer knows how to minimize his opponents’ strengths while exploiting their weaknesses. Shakur has demonstrated the ability and IQ of a master boxer by defeating and dominating boxers with varying styles. From boxers with Olympic pedigrees in Robson Conceicao, Oscar Valdez, and Artem Harutyunyan to offensive volume boxers like William Zepeda, he’s demonstrated the ability to adapt and thrive against all of them. This is his fight to lose. Stevenson possesses the skill set which Lopez struggles the most against. He mustn’t become overconfident or take unnecessary risks as Teo will seek to capitalize on his mistakes. Lopez is at his best when he is underestimated and overlooked. He faced similar odds when he faced and upset the technician in Lomachenko. Lopez was measured, calculated, and utilized his jab effectively. Shakur is much more defensive than Loma; he’ll limit the exchanges, giving Lopez fewer offensive opportunities. He’ll dictate the pace and the match.

 

 

(Getty Images)

Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua: Daring To Be Legendary 

 

By: Sal Arteaga - 12/08/2025

 

Jake Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) is attempting to do the impossible which is defeating the former two time unified WBO, WBA, and IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs). An impossible task due to Jake’s limited experience. He has skill but to say he’s developed enough as a fighter to challenge an Olympic gold medalist and former heavyweight champion would be a stretch. Why then would Paul take up a fight like this? This is greater than daring to be great, this is daring to be legendary. Rainbet lists Paul as a big underdog at +600 and Joshua a -1429 favorite. If he were able to somehow come out victorious, it would be the greatest Cinderella story ever. Accomplishing the impossible. 

 

In Anthony Joshua, you have a boxer in the later stages of his career whose coming off a devasting loss to Daniel Dubois. A fight in which he was dropped four times and was viciously knocked out. After suffering such a loss, it may make many believe he’s on the decline and  primed for the picking. Boxing great Andre Ward publicly challenged Joshua to a fight after the loss. The 28-year-old Jake thinks he can use his youth and speed to defeat the 36-year-old Joshua. When the 38-year-old Mike Tyson lost consecutive matches to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride he retired because his skills had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer be competitive. Has Joshua reached this level? Although he may have lost a step, he can still be competitive at the championship level. He’s rumored to be fighting Tyson Fury in a mega fight in 2026. 

 

In his last match against the former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Jake easily overworked a very low offensive output from Chavez. Heavyweights by nature are lower volume punchers than the smaller sized boxers but their punches are much heavier and one  single blow can knock a person out. With the exception of Mike Tyson, in the 13 professional matches he’s had, Paul was the bigger fighter. Now for the first time in his career, he faces a bigger, stronger fighter in Anthony. When you face a stronger puncher the margin for error is small, one costly mistake could cost you. For Jake, the margin of error is non-existent, he has to be perfect for 24 minutes or he’ll end up on the canvas.

 

Although Chavez had very low volume (154), he was able to connect on 39.6 percent of his punches against Paul (Compubox). If Jake allows Joshua to land 40 percent of his punches he’s  going to be in a world of hurt. He must tighten up defensively and use a high guard. He rarely  put his hands up against Chavez. He did not fear the incoming punches from the smaller 39- year-old, he will against Joshua. In this match, he may find himself fighting on his back foot as Joshua will look to initiate the pressure, feeling he can bully and outbox Paul. If Jake can’t make the necessary defensive adjustments, it’ll be a very early night for him. He must be able find a way to defend effectively. Surviving the 8-rounder will be a win in itself for Jake. He’s accomplished great things in boxing, being able to promote one of the most viewed boxing events in history. Paul is a marketing genius; there is no denying that, many hate him for being a YouTuber turned boxer. We live in a free-market economy where anyone can compete, and Jake has thrived in it. He is the co-owner of the leading promotional company for women’s boxing and his influence in the sport will only grow from here. Win or lose his influence in boxing has been felt.

 

 

Isaac Cruz vs. Lamont Roach: Tactical Analysis

 

By: Sal Arteaga - 12/02/2025

 

Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs) will do battle against WBA super featherweight world  champion Lamont Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) for the WBC interim super lightweight title this  Saturday at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. The former Gervonta “Tank” Davis  foes are two of only three opponents to have gone the distance against Tank. German Ivan  Meraz being the other having fought Davis to a full six rounder in 2014. There are many who  believe Gervonta lost his matches to Isaac and Lamont.  

 

Debatably so, Pitbull could have faced the better version of Tank as the March version who  faced Roach appeared disinterested and less passionate. When analyzing their respective  matches against Tank, it’s Pitbull who statistically fared better. Although Gervonta had a much  higher output (462) against Cruz, he only landed 28.8 percent of his punches. He was able to  land 36.9 percent of his punches against Lamont, despite having an anemic output rate of 279  punches. Offensively, Cruz is the opponent whose landed the most punches against Tank,  having landed 121 punches in 36 minutes (Compubox). 

 

Although Cruz may be the underdog being listed by Rainbet a +178 and Roach being favored at  -250, Isaac has the ability and skills to capture the victory. He demonstrated so against Tank,  having stood in front of him and defensively making him miss with his head movement and  countering him in some exchanges. Pitbull has gone away from that in recent matches, relying  purely on pressured aggression without tactically setting up his punches through his jab. He  lunges in, aiming to bully his opponents with his power. He can do so much better and take less  damage in the process. It’s his warrior mentality he has to balance out, to box more than slug at  times. In his match against Angel Fierro, he took more punishment than needed because of his recklessness. Had he boxed and been more defensive he could have won more convincingly and  minimized the damage he sustained.  

 

Against Roach he has no choice but to be more tactical and measured if he wants to win the  match. Lamont is a counter puncher, with good speed and agility. He’ll look to time him coming  in, although Cruz has never been knocked down, the wear and tear in being in so many battles  could eventually drain on him. Lamont will seek to box Pitbull, utilizing lateral movement 

similar to the fighter who last beat him, Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela, who found success in  controlling the distance and jabbing at range. Lamont has a 4.5-inch reach advantage but as a  counter puncher he may not take full advantage of it. He waits on his opponent to initiate the  contact. Pitbull can exploit Roach’s tentativeness through a measured offensive attack. Jamel  Herring defeated Roach by finding success through his jab, throwing double and triple jabs at  times that kept Lamont at bay. Roach is an economical puncher, and Pitbull can use this to his  advantage by effectively overwhelming Roach with his volume thus outpointing him in the  process. His volume could sway the judges’ scorecards if they see a Roach who isn’t offensively  impressive. Cruz must also do something he hasn’t done as of late and be defensively  disciplined by utilizing head movement, catching, and parrying Lamont’s punches. Victory is  within his grasp, he must not be so reckless, he needs throw tight inside punches, and not  throw so wide, if he can do so, he’ll come out victorious.