Teófimo López, 28, raised eyebrows on Saturday when he apologized for slavery after he lost to fellow boxer Shakur Stevenson, who is Black.
Per Complex, Stevenson, 28, emerged victorious after 12 rounds. Following his loss, López made a weird apology while speaking to reporters.
“To all my brothers and sisters, I love you guys, always salute to the power that be above, and thank you guys,” López said. “I never wanted to harm you guys, so my condolences to all you guys, and to the slavery and everything that’s ever happened.”
Stevenson, on the other hand, touched on how he managed to defeat his opponent.
“I picked him apart and did what I was supposed to do,” Stevenson said. “This is the art of boxing—hit and don’t get hit and pick guys apart.”
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Stevenson’s victory over López now makes him a four-division champion, as he won the WBO junior welterweight title after defeating his opponent on Saturday.
This isn’t the first time that López has stirred controversy over his comments that have been deemed racist. The 28-year-old similarly made comments of such nature while referring to his fellow boxers.
While speaking to a reporter last year, López raised eyebrows when he said that he was ready to face off against “whichever monkey wants to get the banana.”
But he later claimed that his comment did not carry any racist undertone, as he was simply trying to provoke boxers who wanted to fight him.
Stevenson remains unbeaten after his victory on Saturday.
“We’re gonna go back to the drawing board, but hold up, there’s a fighter here tonight and he motivated me. Where’s Conor Benn?! I want that same rehydration clause you put on [Chris] Eubank Jr and I want to fight!” said Stevenson, per Sky Sports.
Teofimo Lopez apologizes for slavery after losing to Shakur Stevenson pic.twitter.com/KVxjRfwHEv
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) February 1, 2026
