Shakur Stevenson may need to take a tuneup before defending his WBC lightweight title against #1 rated challenger William Zepeda.
Those two have been talked about potentially fighting on February 22nd in Riyadh, but Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) is coming off hand surgery, and it would be a tough fight for him to jump straight into what would be a grueling defense against Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs).
Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to keep Shakur unbeaten long enough to get the lucrative fight against Gervonta Davis, but it would be an act of incompetence if he were to allow him to fight Zepeda without a tune-up. Even Shakur would agree with that.
Shakur has talked boldly on X about how he’s going to easily handle Zepeda, but he knows what he would be up against if he took this fight even when 100% healthy. To take on a fighter that cuts off the ring and attacks the body like Zepeda, Shakur will need to be at his best.
Zepeda guy is nothing like the fighters Shakur has padded his record with since turning pro in 2017, and he wouldn’t be able to hold him off with jabs and movement as he did against fighters at 130 and 126.
“It’s already somewhat in the works. So, I do see this fight happening. I think Shakur takes Zepeda apart,” said Chris Algieri to Probox TV, predicting an easy victory for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson over William Zepeda on February 22nd if the two meet then.
Shakur-Zepeda has been talked about for the last couple of months, and Shakur’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants it to happen in February because he needs this win to position himself for a unification fight against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis in the summer of 2025.
“A style like Zepeda, and he’s very impressive, throws a ton of punches. He can punch, he’s strong, he can come forward, and he has much sneakier defense than he shows. But when you have a master of defense the way Shakur is, the way he’s able to keep that jab in your face and make you miss by an inch and then counter-punch you.
Since moving up to 135, Shakur has fought only one good fighter, Edwin De Los Santos and his victory against him was questionable due to the lack of offense. Shakur was literally running from De Los Santos and being booed like mad by the fans at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The judges gave Shakur the decision to win, but it was a dubious victory. His excuse after the fight about having injuries didn’t take well with the fans, who’d seen him fight the same way against the pressure fighters Jeremiah Nakathilia and Joet Gonzalez.
“He’s able to slow the pace down, analyze and collect data all night long; I don’t see Zepeda being able to overcome that control of distance and that ability to maintain range,” said Algieri, continuing to praise the finesse-level fighter, Shakur. “For me, that’s definitely a Shakur fight, but listen, this is a fight we’re probably going to see.”
Shakur obviously isn’t as good of a fighter as the picture that Algieri paints of him. He was at his best at featherweight and super featherweight, but he’s not shown the same kind of ability since moving up to 135. He’s not fought an opponent that averages 100+ punches thrown per round like Zepeda, and he’s not had to face someone who cuts off the ring and attacks the body the way he does.
“I don’t think it’s next like everyone is saying because Shakur is coming off a hand injury/surgery to go right into a fight with guy like Zepeda, who is going to come right at you with a hard head. That’s probably not the best idea, and it’s probably not going to happen right away. I do think we’re going to see this fight in 2025,” said Algieri.
Read the full article here
