On January 31 in the main event of The Ring VI in New York, USA, Shakur Stevenson completely dominated Lopez, winning by unanimous decision with scores of 119-109 on all three cards. Stevenson added the WBO junior welterweight title to his collection, while Lopez suffered his second career loss.
After the fight, there is active discussion in the boxing community about the possible retirement of Teofimo Lopez Sr. from the position of his son's head coach. Many criticize the father for allegedly ineffective corner instructions and for failing to prepare Teo for Stevenson's elusive style.
However, Robert Garcia, one of the most respected trainers of our time, believes this opinion is mistaken:
"Everyone was happy when Teo defeated Vasyl Lomachenko. Back then, everyone said: 'What a great team effort by father and son, wow, it works.' Then his fight with Josh Taylor was called incredible, epic — once again, the elder and junior Lopez were praised for their excellent preparation.
And now one loss — and suddenly 'fire the father'? For what reason? They have achieved a lot together already. Remember how Derrick James led Errol Spence to fight Terence Crawford? Spence had never lost so decisively before either. It's experience, it's a lesson for the fighter. These things happen.
When Teofimo defeated Taylor — nobody said 'fire the father.' Everyone said: 'Together they did an amazing job.' So why should it be different now?" — Garcia stated.