A masterful Stevenson outboxed and out-thought Lopez throughout the 12-round main event of “The Ring 6” at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. Faced with his most accomplished, dangerous opponent, Stevenson stuck to his defensive principles, jabbed very effectively, consistently fought from his most comfortable range and defeated Lopez by unanimous decision in his 140-pound debut.
Judges Max De Luca (119-109), Eric Marlinski (119-109) and Steve Weisfeld (119-109) credited Stevenson for winning 11 rounds apiece against an opponent who didn’t make many adjustments once he fell behind.
“I did what I was supposed to do,” Stevenson told DAZN’s Chris Mannix in the ring. “This is the art of boxing. Hit, don’t get hit, and pick guys apart. I can beat any of these guys. All I gotta do is put my mind to it. I told y’all, I’m the best fighter on the planet and I stand by that.”
Stevenson, 28, won The Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles from Lopez and became a world champion in a fourth weight class. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist also owns the WBC lightweight title and could return to the 135-pound division if he isn’t pleased with the 140-pound options for his next fight.
The left-handed Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs), of Newark, New Jersey, also ended Lopez’s six-fight winning streak.
Before Saturday night, the Brooklyn-born, 28-year-old Lopez hadn’t lost since Australian underdog George Kambosos Jr. beat him by split decision in November 2021 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Lopez (22-2, 13 KOs) was 6-0 in junior welterweight bouts before he encountered Stevenson, who’s ranked seventh on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list.
Stevenson was more respectful of Lopez’s prowess than when he deliberately abandoned defense at times in his prior appearance. Intent to silence skeptics who questioned his willingness to take risks, Stevenson delivered plenty of entertainment while dominating powerful southpaw William Zepeda on July 12 in the co-feature of “The Ring III” card at Louis Armstrong Stadium in nearby Queens.
This performance wasn’t as fan friendly as when he beat Mexico’s Zepeda, but the final result was similar against a more capable opponent.
All that was left to learn by the time the 12th round began was whether Stevenson would stop a demoralized Lopez, who was battered and bloodied. Stevenson couldn’t hurt Lopez, but understandably seemed satisfied with the crowning achievement of his career thus far.
Stevenson stung Lopez with a left and then a right with about 40 seconds to go in the 11th round. He stated in his corner before the round began that he wanted to stop Lopez.
A disciplined Stevenson maintained control during the eighth, ninth and 10th rounds. By the time they approached the championship rounds, Lopez appeared resigned to losing a wide decision on the cards.
Blood poured from a cut around Lopez’s left eye by the time the 10th round ended. He somehow left his corner for the 11th round with blood streaming down the left side of his face.
Stevenson controlled the action throughout the seventh, though Lopez landed a right hand a few seconds before it ended. Stevenson clipped an exposed Lopez with a right hook 25 seconds into the sixth round.
Stevenson’s straight left to the body backed Lopez toward the ropes with less than a minute remaining in the fifth round. A left by Stevenson connected as Lopez attempted to exchange with him 35 seconds into the fifth.
Stevenson’s straight left landed with less than 10 seconds to go in the fourth round. Lopez lost his footing as they exchanged punches with just over 1:40 on the clock in the fourth.
Lopez landed a left hook off a break with 35 seconds to go in round three, when Stevenson slipped several of his punches. Stevenson’s left landed, but Lopez countered with a right with under 1:20 on the clock in the third.
Stevenson fell to the canvas, but Dock correctly called it a trip with 35 seconds to go in the second round. Stevenson landed two left hands and forced Lopez to move away from him with under a minute to go in the second round.
Lopez backed Stevenson into a neutral corner and landed a left hook with about 1:10 to go in the first round, though Stevenson fired back and put Lopez on his back foot. Stevenson then landed a couple jabs and a right hand on the inside.
Lopez didn’t have much success thereafter.
“I been seeing it on tape,” Stevenson said. “I watched him and I knew my jab was gonna kill him. I told everybody before the fight, I said, ‘They gonna say I got the best jab in boxing after this fight.’ Because I seen what he was weak at and I capitalized off it.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.
