William Zepeda said today at the kickoff press conference in New York that he wants to see if Shakur Stevenson will back up his words of standing and fighting him on July 12th at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens. The unbeaten Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) says he expected Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) to resort to boxing like he always does, rather than stand and slug.
Shakur’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said he wants the Ring lightweight title to be at stake for the Stevenson-Zepeda fight, making the winner the “King of the division.”
“The man to my left, if he were from the UK, he’d be what we call an absolute treasure. He would be a superstar,” said Eddie Hearn during today’s press conference, talking about Shakur Stevenson. “He should be not only a superstar of boxing but a superstar of American sport. He’s 27 years of age, a three-division world champion, and he’s never broken a sweat.”
The reason Shakur isn’t a superstar is because of this:
- Boring fighting style: Stevenson is a runner.
- Weak resume: His victories at 126 and 130 were against lesser fighters, many of them washed up. At 135, Shakur performed horribly against Edwin De Los Santos, the only halfway decent fighter he’s faced in this weight class. Fans routinely boo his fights, and many of them bolt halfway through.
- Unwilling to take risks when called out.
- Reputation of being protected by his promoters
“Eric Gomez [of Golden Boy] said it right in comparing him to Floyd Mayweather. I also put him in with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker, all of the greats. This is how good this man [Stevenson] is,” continued Hearn with his glazing of Shakur. “But for greatness, you need a great opponent, and that is William Zepeda. This is the fight where Shakur Stevenson will show everybody how great and how special he is.
“I know the Ring belt is vacant. This belt should be on the line for Shakur and William Zepeda on July 12th,” said Hearn. “You will see why Shakur Stevenson is one of the greatest fighters. These are two fighters that deserve to be the King of the division. He should be crowned the King on July 12th.
Zepeda: Stand and Fight
“I think on July 12th, the world will know who William Zepeda is,” said Zepeda. “I don’t care what Eddie says. I hope Shakur does what he says he’s going to do and stand and fight. Shakur says he’s going to stand and fight, let’s stand and fight. We have a plan A and a plan B. He says he’s going to stand and fight with me, but he’s going to have to go back to box.”
“I’m coming to put on a performance. I’m coming in there to put on the best performance of my career,” said Shakur. “He can’t do nothing different. He’s coming in to throw as many punches as possible and make me tired. He will have the best version of Shakur Stevenson.
“I’m not sleeping on William Zepeda. I’ve got to lock in and step on him. That’s what I got to do,” said Shakur.
“I want to be known as a Mexican legend,” said Zepeda.
“It can’t be. Of course, I want the Tank fight, but if I don’t get past Zepeda, there is no Tank fight,” said Shakur.
Last Updated on 05/15/2025
