Teofimo, Shakur went from sparring as princes to fighting to be boxing kings

""He did 40 rounds of sparring, at least -- nonstop, didn't get out of the ring," recalls Caicedo, the veteran trainer. "He did eight or 10 rounds with my champ, Juan Carlos Payano." Then he gave Claudio Marrero -- 19-1 as a junior lightweight -- another eight. Chucky Flores? -- Moises Flores, out of Guadalajara, Mexico, 24-0 at the time -- and Yenifel Vicente, a nine-year vet at super bantamweight with 27 wins, at least eight with each of them, too."

""Weren't there also a couple of guys from Kazakhstan?" I ask. "Yes," Caicedo says. "Gave them good work, too. And didn't even look tired." Though just a kid against hardened men, Stevenson inevitably gave as good or better than he got. But the last fighter he faced that day was a babyface like him, from Florida by way of Brooklyn, New York, and also vying for a spot on the Olympic team."

Early spring 2016 at a Miami gym hosted champions, contenders and aspiring Olympians. An 18-year-old amateur bantamweight from Newark, Shakur Stevenson, led a vigorous session. Stevenson performed at least 40 nonstop rounds and sparred eight to ten rounds with Juan Carlos Payano, then eight with Claudio Marrero, Moises Flores and Yenifel Vicente, plus Kazakhstan visitors. Stevenson did not appear tired and matched or exceeded the experienced fighters’ work. The final sparring partner was lightweight Teofimo Lopez Jr., 32 days younger, whose performance observers disagree over; some favored Stevenson, while trainer Herman Caicedo judged Lopez faster, more athletic and more explosive.

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