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Styles make fights – and Shane Mosley believes the outcome of Teofimo Lopez’s clash with Shakur Stevenson will hinge on whether the man can successfully impose his will.
The countdown continues to one of the biggest fights of the year, with Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) defending his WBO welterweight title against Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs), at Madison Square Garden on January 31. On paper, this is a true 50-50 fight between an established champion and a challenger operating in his fourth weight class.
Mosley, now 54, knows all about elite-level matchups. A dazzling lightweight champion in the late 1990s, “Sugar” Shane catapulted himself into boxing’s stratosphere with a stunning victory over Oscar De La Hoya at the turn of the century to capture the WBC welterweight title.
Like many observers, Mosley is fascinated by how Lopez and Stevenson’s contrasting styles will fit together, given their high IQs and technical versatility. Talk to Fight Hub TVhe explained what he would be watching for on fight night.
“Which fighter can impose his will on the other. Who can impose his style on the other style. Shakur Stevenson has a very strong style where he can sit and shoot you and box. Teofimo can also box and is very athletic and can move from side to side and can make things difficult for you as well. So which style is going to impose himself on the other, that’s what we want to see.”
Mosley is particularly intrigued by how the competition plays out in its early stages, suggesting that the early rounds might reveal subtle shifts in control before a fighter begins to pull ahead.
“I think you’ll need a few rounds, but the first round is going to be very interesting. Maybe you’ll see a few reveals, but maybe two or three you’ll start to see one leave the other. Shakur may have to show something different if he’s going to go after Teofimo Lopez. He may have to show a different type of heart that we haven’t seen and vice versa.”
There are a lot of unanswered questions heading into the fight – whether Stevenson can carry his speed and sharpness up to 140 pounds, or whether Lopez can still deliver on the biggest nights, as he did against Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor. Like many former and current fighters, Mosley found the fight too close to decide.
“I think it’s 50-50. It’s a fight that I just have to sit back and watch and impose their will on the other guy.”
