Roy Jones Jr has his say on Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson: ‘It’s the only way he can win’

Next month, Shakur Stevenson moves up to welterweight for the toughest fight of his career, alongside WBO world champion Teofimo Lopez. Now Roy Jones Jr has shared his thoughts ahead of the clash.

At 28, Stevenson already has enough achievements to make the Hall of Fame, having become a three-division world champion following his move to the professional scene, following his Olympic silver medal at the Rio 2016 Games.

However, the Newark-born southpaw continues to strive for greater greatness and now moves up to 140 pounds, where he hopes he can be better tested against former unified lightweight champion and reigning WBO super lightweight titlist, Lopez.

In an interview with FightHype, four-division conqueror Jones Jr revealed that he believes Lopez only has a chance of handing Stevenson a first career defeat if he is willing to “gamble” during the competition.

“Stylistically, Teo has to go out there and go all out. He has to play, he has to take it and give it, that’s the only way he’s going to win. If he stays out there and fights, Shakur is going to pick him apart.

“Shakur is a refined boxer, he has one of the best speeds in the game right now and he is a defensive-minded fighter who is very intelligent.

“He’s hard to hit, you have to play to hit him, and he will be difficult to deal with, but if Teofimo is willing to gamble to beat him, then Teofimo can definitely give him a very good fight. It’s [about] who wants it the most.

Lopez-Stevenson will take place at Madison Square Garden, New York on Saturday, January 31 and will be available live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.