Has Gold Fever Gripped Shakur Stevenson, Leading Him To Prioritize Teofimo Lopez Over Risky Contenders?

Teofimo Lopez stated in an interview today that he and Shakur Stevenson are “prepped” for a fight in early 2026, which will be streamed on Netflix.  He says he’s waiting for Riyadh Season to make “the fight happen” with Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs).

WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo (22-1, 13 KOs) would likely be looking for a pay increase from the $10 million purse he received for his title defense against Arnold Barboza Jr. on Turki Alalshikh’s ‘Fatal Fury’ event earlier this year on May 2 at Times Square in New York.

The Shift in Stevenson’s Focus

Whatever purse Teo receives, Shakur would predictably want a similar amount. According to Sportster, Shakur’s career-high purse is $7 million for his title defense of his WBC lightweight belt against William Zepeda on July 12. So, Stevenson could get a payday of $10 million, which would be a big bump up for him.

Interestingly, ever since Shakur got a taste of millions in the Zepeda, he’s seemed totally focused on landing the fight against Lopez. This has some fans believing that Shakur’s interest is now only in money, and no longer about proving he’s the best.

In other words, they believe Stevenson is money-hungry now, and that’s why he’s ignoring the risky contenders at lightweight, like #1 WBC Andy Cruz and Jadier Herrera, coming for his title.

They see Shakur as showing signs of having gold fever now. Instead of panning for gold like the fortune seekers during the California Gold Rush in 1848, Shakur is targeting Teofimo at 140. It would be a shame if Stevenson is now only fighting for money like other fighters once they get a taste of the dough for the first time.

Lopez and Stevenson Are Prepped

“Me and Shakur are prepped. We really want to give the fans a good showing. Hopefully, Riyadh Season comes in and makes this happen,” said Teofimo Lopez to Ring Magazine about a potential fight between him and Shakur Stevenson in early 2026.

“We both want to fight. We talked about it on X. Now, it’s the business side of the people to settle it and finish it. It’s marketing to establish it,” said Teofimo.

Lopez vs. Stevenson is an excellent fight, but Turki will need to decide whether it’s a big enough one to headline on Netflix. It’s not a massive enough fight where a no frills undercard of hungry, little-known prospects could be packaged with it.

Luring Fans to Netflix Boxing

There would have to be some quality fight on the undercard to lure fans who aren’t enthralled by Shakur’s retro style from the old Mayweather days. Teofimo hasn’t kept his popularity up since his big win over Vasily Lomachenko on October 17, 2020.

Lopez has done very little with his career since that upset 12-round, fighting only seven times in five years. Teo hasn’t had any risky fights and has ignored callouts from the top 140-lb contenders.

Teo lost to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021 and came close to suffering a second defeat against Jamaine Ortiz in 2024. Since Teofimo’s close call against Ortiz, he’s backed off fighting risky opposition, choosing to defend against Steve Claggett and Arnold Barboza Jr.