"I didn't have to agree to this fight. I could have stayed at lightweight and defended my belt, but I see a lot of weaknesses in his boxing technique and intend to take advantage of them," said Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs), who will face off against Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) on January 31 in a fight for his WBO super lightweight title (63.5 kg).
If the silver medalist of the 2016 Rio Olympics wins, he will become a world champion in his fourth weight category. However, naturally, the bigger and stronger reigning champion already has big names on his boxing resume, and Vasiliy Lomachenko is one of the most prominent.
"Teo is one of the best super lightweight boxers. He's a well-known boxer with a solid resume. Surely there are those who will bet on him, and that's exactly why I chose him as my next opponent. On the one hand, he's a very good boxer, but on the other, I see a lot of shortcomings and weaknesses in him," said Stevenson.
"And since he's already an experienced fighter, he won't be able to correct these mistakes in one training camp. I see them and intend to use them, but I won't talk about them. I'll keep it to myself and then show everything in the ring," added Stevenson.
