HE Turki Alalshikh, the man running Saudi entertainment and now the owner of RingMagazine, has finally confirmed it straight: Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson are locked in for Saturday, January 31 in New York as the main event for The Ring 6.
There’s been chatter for months, proper noise online, but now it’s official and everyone in the sport can calm down.
Matchroom are handling the show and DAZN will stream it globally. No surprises there — it’s a fight big enough for worldwide eyes, and the timing at the start of 2026 is exactly the kind of statement Turki likes dropping.
Brooklyn’s Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) is sticking his WBO and The Ring junior-welterweight straps on the line, and he’s doing it against Shakur Stevenson, who’s stepping up to 140 for the first time after bagging the WBC lightweight title. Proper bold move from Shakur, especially at this point in his career.
Two Champions. Two Egos. One Dangerous Fight For January.
This will be Teofimo’s fourth defence, and he’s coming in with a six-fight streak behind him. His last outing was that decision win over Arnold Barboza Jr. — and say what you want about Teo, the lad showed discipline that night on The Ring’s Fatal Fury Times Square event back in May. He likes these flashy stages. He feeds off it.
Shakur, meanwhile, only fought two months after that. Beat William Zepeda clean on the cards at Louis Armstrong Stadium during the Ring III event. And now he’s circling history again — trying to become a four-weight champion just a few miles from his hometown in Newark. If you know Shakur, you know he loves taking the “too soon, too risky” fights. It’s part of the chip on his shoulder.
What The Fighters Said (And They Weren’t Hiding)
Turki Alalshikh didn’t hold back on the announcement. “This fight between two huge talents will provide an exciting start to our plans for 2026 and as we look to create another great year of boxing events around the world. We are looking forward to returning to New York in January and producing another big world title fight that fans have been waiting for.”
Teofimo walked into this like only Teo does — pure theatre. “Duck, Duck, Goose! Are you ready for New York City? Brick city in the concrete jungle, so let’s get ready to rumble! The Takeover is here to stay, not play. Make Boxing Great Again is my forte. Shakur will fall in nine.”
You can never tell if he’s half-performing or fully believing every word — probably both.
Shakur hit back sharp and calm. “I have never shied away from a challenge and always chased the biggest fights in the sport because I know I am one of the best boxers in the world. Teofimo Lopez will learn that firsthand on January 31 when I take his belt and show him that there are levels to this game. New York, get ready for a spectacular performance as I take over a fourth straight weight division.”
Classic Shakur: blunt, ice-cold, straight to the point.
Further details — tickets, venue, undercard — will drop soon, but the top end is already enough to stir up the start of 2026. This one feels personal for both lads, and New York’s going to be absolute chaos when they land.
Teo talks too much 😡 Every time he opens his mouth it’s some show-off line about takeovers or making boxing great again but he still fights weird sometimes.
Nah I kinda like the way he hypes things up 😂 It makes the sport fun even if it’s over the top.
But if he don’t back it up again then people gonna stop listening to him altogether.
“Shakur going up in weight too fast if you ask me. Just cause you beat people smaller don’t mean you ready for bigger guys hitting harder.”
“Make Boxing Great Again” sounds silly when you fighting once a year 😤 Fighters today act like they doing something amazing when old boxers fought every few months.
Why they keep putting fights in New York? Not everyone can travel there or afford those prices! Should’ve done it in Vegas where real fans can watch better!
They both champions but this gonna come down to heart 💪 Teofimo been through ups and downs already, I think he got more hunger to prove something again.
Everyone acting like Shakur is unbeatable, but he ain’t fought someone like Teofimo who comes in strong and aggressive. You can’t just play defense and win all the time.
But Shakur always picks smart punches and don’t get hit much. That’s how you win, not by swinging wild like Teo does sometimes.
I agree with Jake though, styles make fights and Teo got the style to mess up Shakur’s whole plan if he stays focused.
This whole fight just feels like a money grab to me 😒 They talking all big but it’s just hype. Both these guys talk more than they actually fight sometimes. I’m not buying it yet.
I don’t get why people think Shakur is gonna win this easy. He’s never fought at 140 before. Teofimo already proven himself in that weight, and he got power too. Size matters here.