Lopez vs. Stevenson: The two areas Lopez has the edge but will that be enough?

Teofimo Lopez Jr. and Shakur Stevenson willed their mega fight into fruition.

On Saturday night, the boxing world will find out who reigns supreme at 140 pounds as Stevenson moves up to challenge for Lopez’ WBO super lightweight world championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and live on DAZN PPV.

In his sole action of 2025, Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) outclassed Arnold Barboza Jr. via unanimous decision in May. Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) had a busier year, retaining his WBC lightweight title with a ninth-round TKO of Josh Padley in February before defending it again by handing William Zepeda his first pro loss in a unanimous decision boxing masterclass last July.

Will Lopez once again rise to his level of competition, as he did against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, by putting the first blemish on Stevenson’s ledger? Or will Stevenson notch his most significant win to date? With the anticipation building, DAZN News examines who has the edge between the champion and challenger.

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Boxing Styles

Teofimo Lopez Jr. is a crafty boxer-puncher in the pocket, changing levels and using feints to pick his spots and score with potshots and bursts of combinations that can carry explosive power.

His style will clash with Shakur Stevenson who works behind an educated jab and is the brand ambassador of the hit and not get hit model of the sweet science. Stevenson’s jab allows him to broker his ring real estate and issue the terms of his fights. It is why he is undefeated.

This one is close as both men are brilliant fighters in their own right. Stevenson’s elusiveness gives him the slightest edge in this styles clash, though.

Edge: Stevenson

Power

Stevenson could make this category intriguing if his punching power increases in this move up from 135 to 140 pounds.

Lopez, though he has not produced a knockout over his last five fights, possesses more pop to his punch.

That power should look to test Stevenson’s chin, especially since he's promising a stoppage. ‘The Takeover’ gets the edge here.

Edge: Lopez

Ring IQ

Both Lopez and Stevenson have superior fight IQs. Lopez has demonstrated that he could execute fight game plans and make adjustments along the way. He upset Lomachenko not by brute force, but at the Ukrainian’s own sweet science of boxing skills. A few fights later, he moved up to 140 pounds and snatched Taylor’s title with another dominant display.

Stevenson is able to work behind the jab unbothered and adapt to seemingly anything his opponents throw at him.

He ekes this category out.

Edge: Stevenson

Defense

How good is Stevenson at hitting and not getting hit? According to CompuBox, as reported by The Ring, Stevenson only gets hit by one in five of his opponent’s attempted power punches for a ratio of 19.5%. That percentage is boxing’s best currently.

Although Lopez can be fidgety and deceptive on his feet, the defensive advantage resides with Stevenson.

Edge: Stevenson

Mental Warfare

Yes, Stevenson wanted to move up and challenge Lopez for the WBO super lightweight title, demonstrating how much the Newark, New Jersey native desired this chance to prove he is the top of the food chain at either 135 or 140 pounds.

The Olympic silver medalist and three-division champion touts excellent amateur and professional experience, making it to this point — the 25^th pro bout of his career.

That said, Lopez is the reigning titleholder who finds himself in a familiar place. The two-division world champion, from Brooklyn, New York, was installed as the betting underdog against both Lomachenko and Taylor, only to deliver a dominant unanimous decision each time.

He is the considerable underdog against Stevenson as well.

Lopez tends to be his sharpest when in such a position.

Edge: Lopez

Who has the edge in Lopez vs. Stevenson?

DAZN News has the 3-2 edge residing with Stevenson, who has enough attributes to stand triumphant and activate a superstar ascension following Saturday night's fight. That said, this Ring VI main event truly can go either way. Both fighters are that great. Will Stevenson show he is on an entirely different level of boxing? Or will Lopez once again rise to his level of competition to hand Stevenson his first pro loss? We are about to find out this weekend.

Get Ring 6 PPV included with DAZN Ultimate Tier for major savings

DAZN's Ultimate Tier subscription package includes a minimum of 12 PPVs a year, on top of the regular 185 fight nights offering.

Therefore, signing up to DAZN Ultimate Tier would include Ring 6: Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson PPV, and the Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Garcia PPV on February 21. This means you would not need to purchase these PPVs individually at an extra cost. 

Better still, more DAZN PPV events are expected to be revealed soon, which would also be included in the DAZN Ultimate Tier.

US customers can sign up for Ultimate Tier now for $44.99 per month. UK customers can subscribe for £24.99 per month.

Based on buying 12 PPVs per year, having an Ultimate Tier subscription instead can save $535 / £320 a year alone**. 

**Savings calculated by comparing 12 months of DAZN Monthly Flex plus 12 pay-per-view events per year against 12 months of DAZN Ultimate at launch price.