The energy inside Wednesday’s kickoff press conference in New York shifted sharply when Teofimo Lopez Sr. fired back at Shakur Stevenson, escalating an already heated promotional atmosphere ahead of their January 31 headliner at Madison Square Garden.
Stevenson had spent much of the afternoon outlining why he believes Lopez is mentally vulnerable and stylistically overmatched. But Lopez’s father didn’t hesitate to return fire. “I bet you’re going to quit,” Teofimo Sr. snapped. “You haven’t fought an elite fighter.”
The exchange underscored the intensity fueling this fight: a matchup between two gifted champions whose personalities, styles, and public personas differ wildly.