Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson – Conor Benn makes his pick

On Saturday, January 31, 2026, Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson will headline the highly anticipated “The Ring 6” fight card at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

The main event will be for Lopez’s WBO super lightweight title. WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is moving up in weight to tackle his fellow American. Ahead of this intriguing clash, Conor Benn has spoken to Fight Hub TV, revealing his pick for Lopez vs Stevenson.

Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson set for January 31 at Madison Square Garden

Both fighters have already met at the opening press conference in New York City. This is an intriguing matchup between two elite boxers.

Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) last boxed on the much-criticised Times Square May 2 card, where he defeated Arnold Barboza Jr, with the judges’ scorecard reading 116-112, 116-112, and 118-110.

Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) faced William Zepeda in his last fight, delivering a career-best performance, comfortably outpointing William Zepeda, with scorecards of 118-110, 118-110, 119-109.

Conor Benn weighs in on Lopez vs Stevenson

Discussing the Teo-Shakur fight, and revealing his prediction:

“I’m backing Teo. I think he’s in a hard fight. Well, He’s not in a taxing fight; He’s in a complex fight in terms of boxing, but he’s not in a gruelling war.

“He won’t be in a gruelling war, that’s for sure,” said Benn. 

When asked about Shakur’s P4P rankings and his own feelings towards the American, Benn said:

“No, I don’t not like Shakur. I like Shakur. I’m just insulted he thinks he can come up to my weight and feel like he can just make it easy work. Well, come up to my weight then. I don’t not like him. I think he’s a funny guy.”

Shakur was full of confidence at the opening presser, predicting a win and tears for Team Lopez: “The outcome is me winning, and me putting on a masterclass performance and Teo Sr crying after the fight.”

Do you agree with Benn, or is Stevenson right to be confident? One thing is for sure: This is going to be a great fight for the technical boxing lovers.