WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson says he will show fans that William Zepeda is not at his level with the fight they are proposing to take place on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Zepeda has yet to win his 10 round fight with A Shakur cloneTevin Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs), this Saturday, November 16, on the Latino Night card at The Venue in Riyadh. Although the Zepeda-Farmer fight appears to be the most talked about of all the fights at the event, they will be competing on the undercard.
In the main event, WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez will face WBO champion Chris Billiam-Smith in a co-main event, and in a co-fight between light welterweights Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza Jr. they put it together.
Shakur may lose this fight against Zepeda, as the 27-year-old from Newark, New Jersey did not show the same ability at 135 to dominate as he did at 126 and 130.
Zepeda would be too strong for Shakur
William Zepeda’s power, high work rate, and striking will make it difficult for Shakur to win the fight without getting lucky on the scorecards.
It is clear that Zepeda will be looking to remove the judges from the equation to prevent him from reaching the same place as the other fighters who fought for Top Rank.
Stevenson doesn’t have the ability to be a top lightweight fighter, and he owes his WBC lightweight title to the judges who gave him a controversial decision against him. Edwin De Los Santos last year on November 16, 2023.
Stevenson-De Los Santos final statistics
– Shakur: 80 of 444 punches thrown 18%
– De Los Santos: 40 of 287 for 14%
Shakur’s consistent movement blocked the exchange, but De Los Santos landed heavy punches throughout the rounds. The Las Vegas fans on the sidelines of the fight at T-Mobile that night were furious, booing both fighters in the fourth round. When Shakur was interviewed inside the ring after the fight, the crowd continued to boo him, making it clear that they felt he was the one who made the fight so intense.
It’s not just Shakur’s lack of power that could get him into trouble against a rugged, high-volume physical puncher like Zepeda. In that fight, Shakur went 12 rounds, landing nothing. It’s Shakur’s hands that break. He ruptured a tendon in his right hand while training to fight Joe Cordina on October 12.
Shakur’s Brittle Hands
The fight was canceled because Shakur needed surgery. On July 6, he injured both hands during his title defense against Artem Harutyunyan. Shakur won a 12-round unanimous decision, but his punching power was weak, and fans began leaving the Prudential Center midway through the contest. ESPN showed fans heading to the exits.
The undefeated Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) rarely faces opponents that fans feel will beat him. Therefore, he takes Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) as a personal challenge to show that he is not in his league and that he will school him in a way that will leave no doubt.
“I enjoy singing. I think that performing at the highest level, at the level that I feel I should be performing at, is very important. I will go in and do what I have to do against Zepeda,” said Shakur Stevenson speaking to Boxing News about his proposed next fight with William Zepeda on February 22.
We haven’t seen Shakur play at a high level since moving up to lightweight last year. That’s the problem. Since moving up to 135, Shakur has fought three times and averaged two of three fights against these fighters:
- Artur Harutyunyan: A gift that will go beyond Top Rank. This was Shakur’s last battle with his promoters before he became a free agent. So, he matched up with a weak puncher coming off a year of layoffs and losses to Frank Martin.
- Edwin de Los Santos: A dubious win for Shakur. In this fight, Shakur showed no willingness to stop and engage with De Los Santos. Almost every punch Shakur threw saw him running away from being hit, and the Las Vegas crowd was not happy to watch this rat-like style. Shakur was like a on the pirate’s porch in the way he will get off and run fast. He was never in a big event with that kind of fighting.
- Shuichiro Yoshino: An unknown fighter in Shakur’s prime at 135. It was obvious why this guy was chosen for Shakur’s first lightweight fight, as Top Rank wasn’t going to take any chances with him in the new weight division. He has already looked bad at super featherweight against Jeremiah Nakathilia and Robson Conceicao. Those fights were a red flag that Shakur would have trouble fighting at lightweight.
“I think he is a good fighter. He’s good at what he does, but he’s not at my level,” continued Shakur about Zepeda. “I know there are standards in boxing. You have to be able to think a certain way, act a certain way and when he gets in there, you will see what you should already know.
“I cannot look beyond what is in front of me right now. In front of me is Zepeda. Hopefully, he will manage his business next week [against Tevin Farmer]. That’s all I’m worried about. “I just worry about what’s in front of me, and then I move on to the next thing after that,” Shakur said.
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