Reigning WBC super-lightweight champion Subriel Matias has weighed in on the upcoming clash between Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez.
Lopez is set to make the fourth defence of his WBO world super-lightweight title against Stevenson at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday January 31.
WBC world lightweight champion Stevenson will have his sights set on becoming a world champion in a fourth weight class and cement his status as one of the best fighters on the planet.
As for Lopez, the 28-year-old from Brooklyn finds himself on an impressive run of form since he suffered the first defeat of his career to George Kambosos Jr back in 2021, making the third defence of his title against Arnold Barboza Jr on May 2.
Another 140lb world champion that is preparing for a January title defence is Matias, who puts his belt on the line against Dalton Smith next month despite an adverse analytical findings in a doping test. He will fight on due to a WBC ruling finding that the results were consistent with a contaminated supplement.
In an interview with Mill City Boxing about the Stevenson vs. Lopez bout, Matias jokingly predicts a comprehensive points victory for Stevenson, as he claims the judges are going to ‘go to sleep’ during the domestic clash.
“So this is what’s going to happen. The three judges are going to grab the cards, give 20 rounds to Shakur, they’re going to sleep and when they wake up they’re gonna raise the hand to Shakur and Lopez is gonna put his head down and start crying.”
Stevenson and Lopez have sent a number of jibes to each other on social media in recent weeks, with both fighters appearing to be full of confidence heading into what could be one of the biggest fights of the year.
