With Teófimo López set to defend his junior welterweight title against Shakur Stevenson at Madison Square Garden, Zab Judah is already treating the matchup like a reality check — and he delivered it live on MRECK TV.
Judah pulled up on David “Flat” Sparks’ Let The Sparkz Fly podcast, and didn’t waste time getting to the fight. Asked for his prediction, Judah called it a “barn burner” early, saying he expects both guys to come out active before Stevenson starts putting his stamp on it.
“I think they’re gonna start out smoking… but I think after six rounds, Shak is going to take hold and get a good grasp of the situation,” Judah said, adding that Stevenson will “lead the way out” once things settle into rhythm.
Still, Judah didn’t frame it like a guaranteed walk-through — he kept circling back to the danger in front of Stevenson. “Anything can happen,” he said, describing López as “the live wire” in the matchup.
And when the conversation leaned toward counting López out, Judah shut that down fast: “Come on, son. This is a fight where you can’t count TF off.”
The warning shot was clear even without a long speech: if López shows up sloppy, emotional, or chasing moments instead of making smart reads, Stevenson’s skill set is built to punish it.
Judah’s blunt read was that Stevenson has enough control to take away López’s openings once the fight hits the middle rounds. “Sha Stevenson possess great enough skills where he going to shut TF down around a six and after — or if not sooner,” Judah said.
For López, the timing of Judah’s comments lands as he’s been publicly trying to shift what the conversation around him even is.
In recent interviews, López has framed his current chapter less around volatility and more around responsibility — especially since becoming a father in 2021. “Being a father, you already won,” López said. “Everything else is just adding more water to my cup.”
López has also been direct about how that perspective impacts his image heading into big moments. “I can’t be out here looking like a bad representation,” he said, explaining that the standard isn’t only for his son, but also for “all the other young kids that are looking up to me.”
He’s positioned this camp as a consistent play — leaving the “hiccups” behind and keeping his mind right. “Anything that has haunted me from the past, I’ve let all those things go,” López said, adding that his goal is to show the version of himself that stays locked in.