Shakur Stevenson may need to take a deal before defending his WBC lightweight title against #1 challenger William Zepeda.
These two have been rumored to potentially fight on February 22nd in Riyadh, but Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) is coming off hand surgery, and it would be a tough fight for him to jump right into what would be a grueling defense. against Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs).
Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to keep Shakur undefeated long enough to get the lucrative fight against Gervonta Davis, but it would be an act of incompetence to allow him to fight Zepeda without a tune-up. Even Shakur would agree with that.
Shakur spoke boldly on X about how he will easily deal with Zepeda, but he knows what he would be up against if he took this fight even when 100% healthy. To take on a fighter who cuts the ring and attacks the body like Zepeda, Shakur has to be at his best.
Zepeda’s guy is nothing like the fighters that Shakur has beaten since turning pro in 2017, and he wouldn’t be able to break it down with strikes and movement like he did against fighters at 130 and 126.
“It’s already a little bit in the works. So, I see this fight happening. I think Shakur shares Zepeda,” said Chris Algieri Probox TVpredicting an easy win for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson over William Zepeda on February 22 if the two meet then.
Shakur-Zepeda has been talked about for the past few months, and Shakur’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants it to happen in February because he needs this win to position himself for a unification fight against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis in the summer of 2025. .
“A style like Zepeda, and he’s very impressive, he throws a ton of punches. He can punch, he’s strong, he can move forward, and he has a much sneakier defense than he shows. But when you have a master of defense, like and Shakur is, the way he is able to keep that jab in your face and make you miss by a centimeter and then counter-punch you.
Since moving up to 135, Shakur has fought only one good fighter, Edwin De Los Santos, and his victory against him was doubtful due to the lack of offense. Shakur literally ran away from De Los Santos and was booed like crazy by the fans at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The judges gave Shakur the decision to win, but it was a dubious victory. His post-fight apology for having injuries did not sit well with the fans, who had seen him fight the same way against pressure fighters Jeremiah Nakathilia and Joet Gonzalez.
“He’s able to slow down, analyze and collect data all night; I don’t see Zepeda being able to overcome that distance control and that ability to keep distance,” said Algieri, continuing to praise the finesse fighter, Shakur . “To me, it’s definitely a Shakur fight, but listen, that’s a fight we’re probably going to see.”
Shakur, obviously, is not as good a fighter as Algieri paints him to be. He was at his best at featherweight and super featherweight, but hasn’t shown the same kind of ability since moving up to 135. He hasn’t fought an opponent who averages 100+ punches thrown per round like ‘and Zepeda, and he did not have to face someone who cuts the ring and attacks the body like him.
“I don’t think he’s the next one like everyone says because Shakur is coming off a hand injury/surgery to go right into a fight with a guy like Zepeda, who’s going to come right at you with a hard head. Probably It’s not the best idea, and it probably won’t happen right away. I think we’re going to see this fight in 2025,” Algieri said.
