Tale of the tape
Here’s how López and Stevenson measure up ahead of tonight’s main event. The naturally bigger López has slight advantages in height and reach over Stevenson, who is moving up to challenge for a title in a fourth weight class.
Key events
Teófimo López has built a career on extremes, and few places have reflected that volatility like Madison Square Garden. It’s where he blasted Richard Commey to win his first world title, saw his momentum derailed as a heavy favorite, then returned as an underdog to dismantle Josh Taylor and claim a second divisional crown. Not long from now, the Garden will stage another reckoning as López defends his junior welterweight title against Shakur Stevenson.
López, who goes off as a near 3-1 underdog, believes the matchup suits him. He has often produced his clearest performances when the stakes are highest and the odds longest, thriving in moments where structure breaks down and instinct takes over. Stevenson, by contrast, arrives undefeated and widely regarded as the sport’s purest technician, a master of distance and control whose discipline has rarely been tested over 12 rounds.
The intrigue lies in whether López can force those moments of chaos again … and whether Stevenson can keep them at bay.
The punches started flying a full day before López and Stevenson were due to do it for real. A sprawling melee broke out during Friday’s weigh-ins at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, briefly turning the buildup to one of boxing’s marquee fights into a security scramble.
Video from the scene showed multiple flashpoints as tempers flared near the stage and later by the venue exits, with several men throwing punches before being separated. Bill Haney, the father of Devin Haney, was caught on camera stepping into the middle of one confrontation in an apparent attempt to calm things down.
Among those involved was unbeaten welterweight Delante “Tiger” Johnson, who appeared to be taunted before squaring up as others rushed in. The disturbance eventually dissipated without police intervention. The NYPD said officers were not dispatched.
An MSG spokesperson later issued a statement warning that violence of any kind would not be tolerated and could result in lifetime bans from all company venues:
Violence will not be condoned at MSG across any type of event including, hockey, basketball, boxing, concerts, or special events. If any individual is found to participate in violent activity, whether you are part of the event, or a patron, you will be banned for life and unable to attend or participate in any event across all our venues.
Although there was no indication that Friday’s dust-up had anything to do with López or Stevenson, the scuffles came against a backdrop of simmering tension all week, including heated exchanges at press events involving both camps.
Carrington wins WBC 126lb title!
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington hast captured the vacant WBC featherweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Carlos Castro, finishing the fight with a sustained burst of right hands that forced the stoppage. Carrington, fighting for a full world title for the first time as a professional, was pushed through competitive early rounds by Castro before taking control down the stretch. Referee Charlie Fitch counted him out at 1:29 of round nine with Castro unable to make it to his feet.
The Brooklyn native improves to a perfect 17-0 and adds a major belt to his résumé, establishing himself as a key figure in the 126lb division.
Next up: it’s 2020 Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis v Jamaine Ortiz in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight fight, the final undercard bout of the night. After that, Teófimo López and Shakur Stevenson will make their ringwalks.
Tale of the tape
Here’s how López and Stevenson measure up ahead of tonight’s main event. The naturally bigger López has slight advantages in height and reach over Stevenson, who is moving up to challenge for a title in a fourth weight class.
Miller’s hairpiece knocked off during fight
The second-to-last preliminary fight before the main event has just started. It’s an eagerly awaited one, with local favorite Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington facing Phoenix’s Carlos Castro for the vacant WBC featherweight title. The unbeaten Carrington, who hails from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood, has a vocal cheering contingent in the building as he bids for his first world title in his 17th professional fight.
Meanwhile, one of the strangest moments of the night unfolded about in the previous bout when Kingsley Ibeh quite literally punched Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller’s hair loose during their heavyweight non-title scrap. Late in the second round, a flurry from Ibeh sent Miller’s toupee peeling back from the front, drawing gasps – and then laughter – from the Madison Square Garden crowd. Miller leaned into the chaos, ripping the hairpiece off completely and tossing it into the stands before the next round, grinning and sticking out his tongue as he resumed fighting.
The bizarre scene added another surreal chapter to Miller’s controversial career on a night already bursting with spectacle. The Brooklyn man went on to win a narrow split decision by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 94-96.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to tonight’s junior welterweight title fight between Teófimo López and Shakur Stevenson. We’re ringside at Madison Square Garden, where a sold-out crowd is filing in for a matchup that carries both local bragging rights and genuine pound-for-pound implications.
Both López and Stevenson enter tonight’s main event in their primes and with résumés that place them among the most accomplished Americans of their generation. López holds the WBO and lineal championship at 140lb and has built a reputation for producing his best work when expectations run against him. Wins over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor established him as a big-stage performer capable of altering a fight with a single counter or burst of momentum, even if consistency has at times eluded him. The setting suits him: the Garden has served as both proving ground and pressure cooker throughout his career.
Stevenson arrives unbeaten in 24 professional fights and widely viewed as one of the sport’s most refined technicians. The Newark southpaw moves up in weight seeking a world title in a fourth division, leaning on a style defined by positioning, anticipation and an ability to control distance that often leaves opponents chasing rather than exchanging. He is less concerned with volume than with efficiency: landing clean, limiting return fire and forcing opponents to take risks they would rather avoid.
The stylistic contrast is stark. López tends to operate in flashes, looking for moments to seize control with speed and power. Stevenson prefers steady command of the ring, dictating tempo through footwork and a disciplined lead hand. How those approaches intersect over the scheduled 12 rounds will likely determine whether the fight becomes a tactical contest or a series of sudden swings.
There is also a regional edge to the night. López was born in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood to Honduran parents, while Stevenson represents the brick city of Newark just across the Hudson River, and the split allegiances are already visible in the crowd. Tickets reportedly sold out days ago, underscoring both the local interest and the broader significance of the matchup. With titles, rankings and future opportunities at stake, the outcome has the potential to reshape the junior welterweight picture while elevating the winner into the broader pound-for-pound conversation by night’s end.
We’ll have round-by-round updates, key moments and instant reaction below. Stay with us.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his preview of tonight’s main event.
