Shakur Stevenson, the WBC lightweight champion, says he wants to fight #1 contender William Zepeda next if he can’t get a unification match against champions Vasily Lomachenko and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
A Brave Move for Stevenson?
That would be a brave move for Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) to take on Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) because he lacks the punch output and power to stand up to a war with the Mexican talent.
Shakur, 28, couldn’t fight the same way against Zepeda as he did against his last opponent, Artem Harutyunyan, or from his past fights against Oscar Valdez or Jamel Herring.
Stevenson would have to stay on the move, using a hit-and-run style in hopes of winning what would likely be a razor-close, possibly controversial decision.
Golden Boy’s Strategy
WBA champion Tank and IBF champ Lomachenko are in negotiations for a unification fight that could happen in November. Neither is expected to look in Shakur’s direction for a fight until 2025 the earliest.
Shakur doesn’t believe William Zepeda’s promoters at Golden Boy Promotions don’t want to go the WBC route. Stevenson believes they’re targeting WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk. However, Zepeda’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, expressed interest in Zepeda challenging Shakur or Berinchyk for their titles next.
De La Hoya wants whoever he can get for Zepeda to fight for a belt, and he threw out Berinchyk’s name because he’s perceived as someone that would be easier to negotiate a fight with,
Top Rank wants to match their rising contender Keyshawn Davis against Berinchyk, but it’s unclear if they’re ready to make that fight next. They could wait until 2025. Keyshawn mentioned that he’ll fight for a world title next year, and Berinchyk is the guy he’s targeting. If that’s the situation, Berinchyk will be available for Zepeda if De La Hoya wants to make that fight rather than one against Shakur.
Promotional Considerations
“If Tank is going to go fight Lomachenko, why can’t I go fight the harder, maybe the harder fight, we don’t know,” Shakur Stevenson said to the Cigar Talk forum about his interest in fighting #1 ranked lightweight contender William Zepeda next if he can’t get a fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis or Vasily Lomachenko next.
“Maybe the harder fight just because of William Zepeda’s volume and how many punches he throws. Where is he at, though?”
It would be a very tough fight for Shakur dealing with Zepeda because he’s a superior fighter to his recent opponents, Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos, and he would have to be on his bike the entire twelve rounds to keep from getting chewed up.
“I think they’re banking on another fight where they can win a belt, Berinchyk,” said Shakur about his belief that Golden Boy Promotions wants William Zepeda to challenge Denys Berinchyk for his WBO lightweight title instead of him. “They don’t want this belt. They don’t want the WBC belt.”
Some fans feel that De La Hoya has been name-dropping Shakur’s name in connection with Zepeda to get cheap attention on his fighter and increase his popularity on the sly but with no real desire to make that fight happen due to the risk involved.
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