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Lightweight Teofimo Lopez and featherweight Shakur Stevenson, two of the best prospects in boxing today, are being lined up to appear on the April 20 Crawford-Khan pay-per-view undercard, with that show likely headed to New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Lopez (11-0, 9 KO) first has to get through veteran Diego Magdaleno (31-2, 13 KO) on tomorrow night’s ESPN/ESPN+ card from Texas, and just as important, he has to come through it with no injuries.
The 21-year-old Lopez went 4-0 in 2018, and wowed viewers in December when he scored a Knockout of the Year contender in 44 seconds against Mason Menard.
Stevenson (10-0, 6 KO) just fought on Jan. 18, stopping Jessie Cris Rosales in four rounds on the Jennings-Rivas undercard in Verona, New York. He went 5-0 in 2018, with perhaps his best performance coming in October, a first round stoppage of Viorel Simion.
Both Lopez and Stevenson are still working their way up the ladder, but to help sell the pay-per-view, you’d hope Top Rank will put them in at least somewhat tough for these potential fights, with legitimate step-up opposition. ESPN reports that Top Rank is “looking for quality opponents,” but it has to be said that what Top Rank (or any promoter) considers a quality opponent may not match the thinking of everyone else.