Shakur Stevenson dominates Teofimo Lopez to become a 4-division champion

NEW YORK (AP) — Shakur Stevenson made it sound easy and look even easier.

He dominated Teofimo Lopez to win a title in a fourth weight class, taking a unanimous decision Saturday night to capture the WBO junior welterweight belt.

“This is the art of boxing,” Stevenson said. “Hit, don’t get hit and pick guys apart.”

Stevenson (25-0) may have mastered that combination as well as anyone in boxing right now.

The unbeaten southpaw was in control the whole way, hardly getting hit in the early rounds and opening a cut over Lopez's left eye later in the bout. All three judges scored the fight 119-109, giving just one round to Lopez.

“I picked him apart, I did what I was supposed to do,” Stevenson said.

Lopez (22-2) tried to press the action, but too often all that accomplished was leaving himself open to Stevenson's counter punches.

The current WBC lightweight champion added the 140-pound belt that Lopez held and will be tough to beat no matter which weight class he opts to remain in. Stevenson traded words in the ring afterward with Conor Benn, the British fighter who has largely fought as a welterweight.

Turki Alalshikh, whose Ring Magazine promoted the event, tweeted that the attendance of 21,324 was a record for a boxing event at the current Madison Square Garden, opened in 1968. The crowd that roared for both local fighters in the minutes before the bout didn’t have many chances to get loud once it began. It was clear early that Stevenson’s style, effective but not especially exciting, was going to control the fight.

Unable to match what might be Stevenson's best-in-boxing foot speed, Lopez was often forced to lunge forward in hopes of connecting, putting himself at risk for shots that came back faster and even most times harder. The area around his left eye was red by the eighth round and blood streamed down his face after a cut opened in the 10th.

Lopez had little explanation for why the fight went so poorly for him.

“I could say a lot of things. Still going to be the wrong thing,” he said.

Stevenson entered the ring and reunited with Terence Crawford, the retired multidivision champion who is an adviser to the Newark, New Jersey, fighter.

There was then a lengthy wait before Lopez’s ring walk turned into a dance performance, as he was joined by the Jabbawockeez.

Lopez kept up with them better than with Stevenson.

The Brooklyn product came aggressively out of his corner when the fight began, but Stevenson was mostly able to keep him from getting close enough to land much and soon began to find openings to score with lefts. He knocked Lopez off balance with one of them in the fourth round, caught him right on the chin with a couple of right jabs in the sixth, and by then it was becoming no longer a question if Lopez would win the fight but if he would even win a round.

Stevenson was better than a 3-to-1 favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, but two of Lopez’s finest performances had come as the underdog in title fights. The first came when he beat Vasiliy Lomachenko in a 135-pound bout in 2020, and he knocked off former undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor in 2023.

But Stevenson might be in a different class than even those greats. He also has held belts at featherweight and super featherweight with his top defensive skills and just as much offense as he needs. He said he not only felt faster than Lopez, but surprisingly also stronger.

It was a good night for Brooklyn boxers earlier in the event.

Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) won the WBC featherweight title by knocking out Carlos Castro in the ninth round. Heavyweight Jarrell Miller overcame a mid-fight hair misfunction to edge Kingsley Ibeh by split decision and improve to 27-1.

Ibeh landed a flurry of shots in the second round and one knocked Miller’s head backward, and his hairpiece popped upward from the front, revealing a large bald spot that covered most of his head.

Miller finished the round with the hairpiece, then ripped it off in his corner between rounds and tossed it into the crowd.

Also, former lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis (14-0, 10 KOs) made an impressive move up to 140 pounds, knocking Jamaine Ortiz down twice and stopping him in the 12th round. Davis then indicated he wants to move up again to face welterweight champion Devin Haney.

AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing

CORRECTS THE NAME TO SHAKUR, NOT SHADUR - Shakur Stevenson waits for the start of a super lightweight title boxing match against Teofimo Lopez Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

CORRECTS THE NAME TO SHAKUR, NOT SHADUR - Teofimo Lopez walks toward the ring with the The Jabbawockeez for a super lightweight title boxing match against Shakur Stevenson Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

CORRECTS THE NAME TO SHAKUR, NOT SHADUR - Shakur Stevenson gestures before a super lightweight title boxing match against Teofimo Lopez Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shadur Stevenson waits for the start of a super lightweight title boxing match against Teofimo Lopez Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shadur Stevenson, right, fights Teofimo Lopez during a super lightweight title boxing match Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Teofimo Lopez walks toward the ring with the The Jabbawockeez for a super lightweight title boxing match against Shadur Stevenson Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shadur Stevenson gestures before a super lightweight title boxing match against Teofimo Lopez Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Shadur Stevenson, left, fights Teofimo Lopez during a super lightweight title boxing match Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Keyshawn Davis, left, punches Jamaine Ortiz during a super lightweight boxing match Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Kingsley Ibeh, right, punches Jarrell Miller during a heavyweight boxing match Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Bruce Carrington celebrates as the referee counts for Carlos Castro during a featherweight title boxing match Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)