Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda will finally share a ring this coming summer
The Ring’s Mike Coppinger reports that after multiple false starts, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson will meet interim titlist William Zepeda on July 12th in New York.
Stevenson (23-0, 11 KO) first got the order in July, shortly after Zepeda (33-0, 27 KO) demolished Giovani Cabrera four his fourth consecutive finish. Rather than immediately lock horns, the pair prepared separate bouts against Joe Cordina and Tevin Farmer, only for Stevenson to injure his hand preparing for the former and Zepeda to injure his hand in a razor-thin victory over the latter.
Stevenson’s subsequent return to action was supposed to pit him against top prospect Floyd Schofield, but illness sank “Kid Austin” on fight week and left Stevenson to brutalize Josh Padley instead, while Zepeda gutted out another tight win over Farmer a month later.
It’s not as interesting a matchup as it was before this whole debacle, as the Farmer fights revealed unexpected shortcomings in Zepeda’s game and Stevenson’s notoriously fragile hands have become even more of a liability. That said, it’s still among the best fights this division has to offer, pitting its top technician against the most aggressive opponent of his career. Fingers crossed they can stay intact for these next three months.
Read the full article here
