Game Plan Ignored
“Everything was fine leading into the fight,” Lopez Sr told SecondsOut.com. “The sparring sessions were what motivated me to this fight, that I was 100% sure we was going to win. For some reason the game plan, my son didn’t do what I told him he was supposed to do.”
He stressed that the objective had been to disrupt Stevenson’s rhythm early and prevent the kind of measured control that ultimately defined the scorecards.
“His rhythm was supposed to be different where we were supposed to stop Shakur from doing whatever Shakur does best,” he added before offering brief credit to the winner. “Congratulations to him for winning, but that was not my son in there.”
External Pressure Cited
Lopez Sr also argued that pre-fight discussion about Stevenson’s next assignment created a psychological disadvantage.
“I think probably the networks and everybody, the media, everything leading up to this fight, talking already about Shakur fighting in May,” he said. “So I think that probably got to him.”
He dismissed criticism surrounding his absence from a press conference, denying speculation about his condition and saying he had been resting. According to Lopez Sr, the combined chatter affected his son’s focus.
Mental Warfare Claims
“My son is mentally easy to mess with and how you going to fight a fight when everybody wants you to lose?” Lopez Sr said. “It just looked like all his powers were not there… His power was not there. I was in shock.”
He went further, arguing the tone of coverage crossed a line.
“There wasn’t not one person talking good about him. So that has to stop,” he said. “The average person can have an opinion but when you have all the networks saying that my son gonna get his ass whooped… it’s not right.”
Lopez was outmaneuvered by a fighter who controlled distance, dictated pace, and forced him into reactive stretches for long portions of the contest. At 27, Lopez still carries name recognition and offensive ability, but repeated inconsistencies have narrowed his margin for error in divisions that reward stability.
