Road to NYC: How have Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson reached MSG blockbuster?

Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson meet in an early fight-of-the-year contender this weekend as they headline The Ring 6 in New York City, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

The former puts his WBO light-welterweight crown on the line against the latter, who is bidding to become a four-weight world champion after a glittering career so far.

It makes for a mouthwatering local affair at Madison Square Garden, as both men cross over to Manhattan from Brooklyn and Newark respectively in pursuit of the other.

But just how did the pair of them come to this major clash? DAZN News profiles the last five bouts for each fighter and sees what has guided them to this defining battle.

Teofimo Lopez (22-1)

Matchroom Boxing

• Age: 28
• Fights: 23
• Last five: WWWWW

A former Rio 2016 representative for Honduras, Lopez may have not built upon a fine amateur career with Olympic success, but has made himself a formidable pro fighter.

Since his lone split-decision loss to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021, Lopez has been a brutal operator with the move from lightweight, stringing together a slew of fine wins.

Victory over Sandor Martin in late 2022 teed up his title shot with Josh Taylor, where he outclassed the Tartan Tornado to take a unanimous decision and the WBO crown.

Since then, three steady triumphs over Jamaine Ortiz, Steve Claggett and Arnold Barboza Jr. - the last in May last year at Times Square - have cemented his reputation.

Shakur Stevenson (24-0)

Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

• Age: 28
• Fights: 24
• Last five: WWWWW

Like Lopez, his rival cut his teeth on the Olympic circuit, taking bantamweight silver at Rio 2016 - but he has only gone from strength to strength since he turned pro.

After missing weight for a unified super-featherweight defence against Robson Conceição in 2022, Stevenson moved to conquer a third division against Shuichiro Yoshino.

A sixth-round TKO laid the platform for his WBC title win over Edwin De Los Santos, in a bout criticised for its lack of action, with the star briefly retiring afterwards.

A quick return to the ring saw him defeat Artem Harutyunyan and late replacement Josh Padley, before he silenced his critics with a superb win over William Zepeda.

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