There may be no fighter in boxing more perplexing than Teofimo Lopez Jr. One month he looks like a generational talent; the next, he looks like he’s searching for answers. It’s why, heading into his January 31 clash with Shakur Stevenson at Madison Square Garden, there’s only one question everyone keeps asking: Which Teofimo Lopez is going to show up?
The explosive prodigy who dethroned Vasiliy Lomachenko. The disciplined technician who neutralized Josh Taylor. Or the erratic puncher who struggled against George Kambosos Jr. and Sandor Martin? With Lopez, the margins between brilliance and uncertainty are razor-thin and he knows it better than anyone.