Shakur Stevenson is on course to fight William Zepeda in February, according to his new promoter Eddie Hearn.
The WBC lightweight champion has signed a two-fight promotional contract with Hearn’s Matchroom, and is to first fight a fellow Matchrooom fighter in Joe Cordina in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 12.
That he is the favourite for that fight and that the WBC had already ordered him to fight Mexico’s Zepeda has contributed to plans for it to happen next already being put in place.
It had been suggested that the 28-year-old Zepeda’s promoters Golden Boy were reluctant for Stevenson-Zepeda to take place without Stevenson also agreeing terms with Golden Boy, but after securing Stevenson’s short-term future and in the knowledge that Matchroom and Golden Boy both have broadcast agreements with DAZN, Hearn is confident that it will follow early in 2025.
“The first step of the plan is Joe Cordina, on October 12, and if he’s victorious there, Zepeda in February, and then we’ll go from there,” the promoter told BoxingScene. “It’s a two-fight deal for us to get our teeth into the relationship; to show Shakur what we can do, and to build his profile into, probably, a Gervonta Davis fight next summer if he keeps winning.
“[The Zepeda fight] could be in the US. It could be in Riyadh as well. His first fight is in Riyadh Season, October 12 [on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol]; obviously it’s a fight that would make sense in the US, but we’re open to any site fees for that fight.
“He’ll be a headline fighter [after fighting Cordina], but he was added quite late to October 12. Also, it is Bivol-Beterbiev, which is a fight, but the key, really, was to get out and have that activity.
“I actually think the Cordina fight’s a really good fight. Joe was struggling really badly at 130lbs; he’s very, very skilful, Joe, and I actually think it’s a brilliant match-up; I think it’s quite a tough fight for Shakur, to be honest with you. He’s a big favourite going into the fight, but Joe’s got nothing to lose; he’s up for it, and the plan for Shakur is to win the fight, then fight Zepeda in February, and then move on to all the mega fights in 2025.
“[I’ve been pursuing Stevenson] the last two months. Since his contract expired with Top Rank. I met him in Florida after the Philadelphia show, and he’s got a great team – Josh Dubin and James Prince – and we got on really well. But it would be wrong for him to sign a long-term deal with anyone, so this is a two-fight deal for us to work together, gelling the relationship, show him our value, and then move forward, hopefully, for the rest of his career.
“Joe lost his title [at super featherweight in May, to Anthony Cacace], and Joe wants the most amount of money and the biggest fights possible, so we’ve delivered that for him. He’s getting a massive payday; he’s got a massive opportunity. So we’ve done a great job for him.
“Trainer relationships [like Cordina’s with former trainer Tony Sims] come to an end. They’ve had an incredible run since his professional debut. Joe doesn’t really have anything to lose, going into this fight. I actually think it’s quite a good style match-up for him, and it’s a fight he’s wanted for a long time.”
As with the signing, in April, of Jaron “Boots” Ennis, entering an agreement with the 27-year-old Stevenson represents for Matchroom a considerable coup. Where once they were reliant on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez leading their expansion into the US fight market, in Ennis, Stevenson and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez they have some of the world’s finest fighters entering their primes; Hearn’s desire to match Liam Paro with Devin Haney means that Haney could also yet rejoin them.
“Dmitry Bivol – he could become undisputed at 175lbs,” said Hearn. “You’ve got Edgar Berlanga, who’s fighting [Saul] ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. You’ve got Liam Paro – he still has a relevance in the US market; he’s a world champion at 140lbs. Ray Ford; Diego Pacheco. We still have Juan Francisco Estrada. We’ve got the best stable globally – that’s obvious – but [also] in America. Shakur Stevenson, ‘Bam’, who is already there, and Jaron Ennis are three top-10 pound-for-pound fighters, and Dmitry Bivol is also top 10, pound for pound. We’re in a brilliant position, and we’ve got a lot of fighters that wanna join the stable. The plan is definitely not to stop here, and to keep going.
“Those three, particularly – Diego Pacheco I think is going to go on and do the same – that are already there in the top 10, pound-for-pound, and Dmitry Bivol, they’re all in their absolute prime, and all have many years ahead of them. Particularly Bam, Shakur and Ennis. So it’s really exciting, because we’ve got three years of them in their absolute prime, and they’re three guys that could be one, two and three in the pound-for-pound list.”
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