Coach Greg Hackett says William Zepeda will “bring out the best” in WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on July 12th when they meet in the co-feature bout in Queens, New York.
Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) is the guy that Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) has wanted for a while, and he’s finally got his wish. It’s believed that he thinks Zepeda is someone that he can easily pick apart, school, and win impressively to get the Gervonta Davis fight.
This fight could be a pure nightmare for Stevenson, where he’s beaten up by Zepeda, forced to run, and booed out of the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens.
Stevenson’s Vulnerable Body Target
“Shakur said that because Zepeda has nothing but pressure. Compared to Shakur Steveson, Zepeda has nothing but pressure, and he’s going to need to bring a lot of it,” said trainer Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media when told that Shakur Stevenson said that William Zepeda will see the best version of himself on July 12th in Queens.
Obviously, Zepeda is going to bring more pressure than he’s shown in his last two fights against Tevin Farmer, because it’s for the WBC lightweight title, and he knows Shakur has brittle hands. He has power, too. There’s no amount of movement that Shakur can do that will keep Zepeda from getting to him and wearing him down with body shots. Movers don’t like getting hit in the body because it takes away their legs, making them rubbery, and they’re forced to stand.
“Shakur knows he’s going to have to be sharp all night, and Zepeda knows he’s going to have to be aggressive all night. That’s why Shakur says you’re going to see the best Shakur Stevenson, and he’s going to have to bring the best. This is another night of boxing for Shakur. All you got to do is do more. That’s it.”
It’ll be interesting to see what “the best Shakur” is on July 12th, because he’s not looked in any of his fights since moving up to the lightweight division in 2023. The only two fights in which he looked slightly impressive were against Josh Padley and Shuichiro Yoshino. Those were two slow, weak guys.
“You don’t got to go out there and get a knockout. You don’t got to go out and move the whole night. All you got to do is get busy. To feel the need to put on a show because people are criticizing you? No, you don’t got to feel like that,” said Hackett about Shakur. “But to feel the need to be great because you’re fighting another fighter that is going to come in there and give you everything that he’s got. Yeah, that’s fair.”
Stevenson can’t knock out Zepeda because it would mean that he would have to stand and be willing to engage. He’s not going to do that. Zepeda will overwhelm Shakur with volume and stop him to the body if he tries to get a knockout. Stevenson can only hit, run, and hold all night like he always does. He’s got his three-step pull-back move that he’s been using since his amateur days. That’s why he lost in the 2016 Olympics. He was too busy pulling back against Robeisy Ramirez, and not throwing punches the way you’re supposed to in the Olympic finals.
Shakur’s A-Game: Running
“I believe we’re going to see the best Zepeda, too. That’s going to force Shakur to be on his A-game all the way through, because you’re going to have to,” said Hackett. “His level of focus is already high. This night, we’re going to see elite-like. He’s one of the most focused fighters in the ring today. Smooth decision 8-4, 7-5, Shakur.”
Hackett’s mention of Shakur having his “level of focus”, that’s code for, ‘He’ll be ready to take off like a rocket’ to avoid Zepeda’s pressure. We’ve already seen how Shakur reacts against punchers in his fights against Edwin De Los Santos and Jeremiah Nakathilia. He won’t engage and stays on the run, avoiding contact, and he tries to nick rounds with a small handful of shots.
What is Shakur’s A-game? Even in his last fight against the electrician, Josh Padley, he looked poor. In his clash before that against Artem Harutyunyan, his hometown fans in Newark, New Jersey, were heading for the exits by the eighth round because he was running from the light hitter.
“Between five and eight,” said Hackett when asked where there are spots that Shakur could be in trouble. That’s the turning point where you got to start picking it up. Zepeda might be pretty good around those rounds, but those last four, 9, 10, 11, 12, Shakur. That’s how you finish a fight. You’re last impression is always you’re best impression,” said Hackett.
Stevenson might actually look worse in the championship rounds from 9-12 against Zepeda, because he’s going to be under withering fire and nonstop pressure. Shakur’s defensive game is centered around making his opponents miss headshots. He’s vulnerable to the body, and always has. That’s how Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez got the better of him in the 2016 Olympics. He targeted Shakur’s body and took advantage of his unwillingness to engage.
HONEST OPINION: I THINK SHAKUR STEVENSON STOPS WILLIAM ZEPEDA IN THE 9TH OR 10TH ROUND. #GHB
— Greg Hackett (@GregHackett215) May 26, 2025
“No, different styles,” said Hackett when asked if Zepeda’s two fights with Tevin Farmer helped him prepare for Shakur. “He was able to get to Tevin at times, not all the times, a little easier than he would be able to get to Shakur. So, that’s why I say no. It’s different body frames and everything. It’s going to be a lot different.”
Zepeda got a lot more preparation for Shakur’s style in his two fights with Farmer than Stevenson got in his last two clashes against Josh Padley and Artem Harutyunyan. Those two light hitters were the complete opposites of how Zepeda fights. They were useless as preparation for Stevenson to get ready for the Mexican brawler’s style.
Fight Could Be Unwatchable
Shakur runs way more than Farmer, lacks power, and does anything he can to avoid getting hit. In other words, he’ll stay on the move to avoid the heat from Zepeda. Like Farmer, Shakur will move, but far more to the point where he’ll make the fight unwatchable. He can’t help it. The chin is weak, and he’s not built for war.
“Tevin is crafty, but not as crafty as he used to be. I’m talking about being slippery. It’s still there, and that southpaw look might have helped a little bit as far as the southpaw. But the way they’re built and the way they move, it’s totally different.,” said Hackett.
Farmer used as much movement and holding as possible to keep from getting stopped by Zepeda in both fights. If he had moved more, the crowds would have booed him. He was at the ultimate limit of how much holding he could do against Zepeda without receiving the Shakur treatment from the fans at the ringside.
Stevenson isn’t brave, rugged, big, or powerful enough to fight the way Farmer did because he’s too fragile. Zepeda would destroy him because he doesn’t have the power or punch resistance to battle the Mexican slugger as much as Tevin did.
Last Updated on 05/26/2025
