“Rooftop of the hotel and jump off!” Shakur Stevenson’s alleged s**cide attempt exposed by Teofimo Lopez

WBC lightweight champ Shakur Stevenson has promised he will show his true class against the best, pending hand surgery; Teofimo Lopez opts out of the chance.

“Rooftop of the hotel and jump off!” Shakur Stevenson’s alleged s**cide attempt exposed by Teofimo Lopez

Teofimo Lopez explains why he won't fight Shakur Stevenson (Source: IMAGO)

Shakur Stevenson put in a solid boxing performance in his most recent win, a unanimous decision over Artem Harutyunyan. However, not everyone supported the young boxing star. Not everyone was sure of his mettle. Teofimo Lopez did not heed the result at all; he could have given him a chance, but there are reasons he won’t.

Stevenson has no immediate plans to move back to 140. Fans will be keen to see him do so in the future as Teofimo Lopez is around. The reason he doesn’t want a scrap with the lightweight champion is that he saw how suicidal he got. This was after a loss in 2015 at the National Golden Gloves, LV. Fans also saw Shakur cry after losing to Cuban Robeisy Ramirez in the 2016 Olympic final. Lopez said it all.

I ain’t trying to give that man his 1st loss. I’ll let somebody else take that, …I’ve seen Shakur lose in the amateurs. This one time in Vegas, National Golden Gloves 2015, Shakur lost to Ruben Villa, and then he wanted to go to the hotel’s rooftop and jump off…I ain’t trying to have actual blood in my hands.

Teofimo Lopez on ‘THE TAKEOVER IS IN THE BUILDING!!’ (Come and Talk 2 Me Podcast (@comeandtalk2me), S5 EP22)

Lopez is currently fighting at 140, a big division for him. Teofimo’s weight cut for his last fight, against Steve Claggett on 29 June, left him badly drained and in poor form. Stevenson looks big for the 135-pound division. But his lack of power makes it almost impossible for him to move up to 140 to fight the stronger strikers like him. He faced much flak for his lack of power shots in the last outing.

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Stevenson (22-0, 10KOs) and his lack of offensive rolls have also been a hot topic for Ma$e, Cam’ron & Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson‘s podcast. Even legends like Floyd Mayweather aren’t immune to criticism of defensive or shelled-up boxing, let alone Stevenson. The formula of chasing him down and not letting him win rounds has been prominent. Shakur’s defeat showed Lopez the blueprint for success against a low-gear boxer. However, he isn’t keen on it.

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Teofimo Lopez didn’t bother checking out the win over Artem Harutyunyan

Stevenson recently had hand surgery but will still defend his WBC lightweight title. It’ll be against William Zepeda in February. Zepeda is a pressure fighter who can punch and has a high output. So, this will be a very difficult fight for Shakur. He does not fare well against teeing off strong punches. This is especially from the likes of Teofimo Lopez, Alberto Puello, Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela, and Liam Paro.

Teofimo Lopez didn't see Shakur Stevenson's last fight
Teofimo Lopez didn’t see Shakur Stevenson’s last fight (Source: Instagram/boxemag.com)

Moreover, punchers and counterpunchers alike – those like Zepada or Teofimo cut distance well against low-output boxers and runners like him. But those are deliberations for a future date. It is because when the Stevenson-Harutyunyan fight was broached, WBO junior welterweight Lopez did not even care to see it.

Nobody’s watching that sh*t, …People walked out? It’s his last fight with Top Rank — so good riddance…[Stevenson] just fought a guy that had only 7 KOs. And what was it, 12-1? Nobody knows. Come on, guys. Don’t come at me. I’ve done my work.

Teofimo Lopez to FightHub (@fighthub)

Lopez is a former unified lightweight world champion, with a victory against Vasiliy Lomachenko to his name. His victory over Josh Taylor sparked his current 140lb reign. Not that Shakur Stevenson is running the mill forward looking for this particular fight, but Teofimo Lopez has struck down the chance more than once. Rather sternly, too, given he does not pay much attention.

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Lopez also bid good riddance that the boxer was now stepping into free agency territory. The 27-year-old is in deep pools now, wherein even viral entities like Oscar De La Hoya aren’t keen on signing him. Stevenson has no current lineup wanting to face him other than gimmicky wishes; Zepada is the it-man. If even others like Lopez or Ryan Garcia catch on to his low output, low draw power, and emotional bursts, the boxer will remain without a booking for a while.