WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and #1 ranked contender William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) are in talks for a fight that could happen in October.
If the Stevenson-Zepeda fight gets made, it could be packaged with the October 12th Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev card. It would go well with that massive fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) wanted a big fight after taking a few smaller ones, and Zepeda would give that opportunity.
“Jay ‘Panda’ Najar tells me that talks began to see William Zepeda vs. Shakur Stevenson for the WBC Lightweight title. ‘Camarón’ is ready for late November or December,” said Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout on X.
Zepeda’s Destructive Path
The pressure fighter Zepeda will be a massive risk for Shakur, who has little power and would have to depend on his movement to keep from getting chopped down like the Mexican talent’s last four opponents:
– Giovanni Cabrera
– Maxi Hughes
– Mercito Gesta
– Jaime Arboleda
A loss in this fight would wreck Shakur’s hopes of getting high-profile bouts against Gervonta Davis and Vasily Lomachenko. If Shakur gets knocked out by Zepeda, he must evaluate whether the lightweight division is for him.
Stevenson might need to move back down to 130 if Zepeda stops him because it would be pointless for him to stay at 135 and wind up as food for the young lions, Abdullah Mason, Andy Cruz, Raymond Muratalla, and Keyshawn Davis.
A Style That Repels
Shakur is trying to angle him into the bigger fights, but his fighting style has been a repellant because the top guys don’t want to chase a runner down for 12 rounds while the audience is chorusing them with boos.
If Shakur does take the fight with Zepeda, 28, he needs to show more offensive firepower than in his recent performance because they were unwatchable for fans. Moreover, Shakur won’t win a decision against Zepeda by using the same type of movement he did in his win over Edwin De Los Santos last November.
Stevenson barely won the De Los Santos fight, and few boxing fans bought into his injury excuses afterward to explain away his performance.
There had been talk of Shakur potentially fighting WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in November now that IBF champ Vasily Lomachenko dropped out of the picture for the Baltimore native, but that’s not happening.
For Tank not to take the fight with Shakur suggests that he or his management doesn’t fancy that fight yet. You can’t blame them because Shakur’s popularity is at an all-time low after back-to-back dull performances against Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos.
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