Promoter Eddie Hearn is not concerned about whether the WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson’s brittle hands will hold under the uninterrupted pressure placed on him on July 12 in Queens, New York.
Shakur Stevenson’s “Brittle hands” challenge
Hearn believes that Stevenson (23-0, 11 coes) will fight through the pain if his glass hands break against Zepeda (33-0, 27 coes) and continue to hit him until he has a knockout.
Shakur has only knocked out two fighters since moving up to 135, Josh Padley and Shuichiro Yoshino. Those fighters looked like fighters with lower levels. It is understandable why Stevenson’s promoters chose them above the dangerous contenders.
“Because of the style, I think he’s going to land on William Zepeda. He had a check and his hands are good. But in a fight where you end up a lot of power legs against an aggressive fighter (can prevent hand injury problems), ‘Eddie Hearn tells Ring magazine About the possibility that Shakur Stevenson’s fragile hands against William Zepeda are falling apart.
What does Hearn talk about? Shakur is not going to land ‘many bumps’ on Zepeda because that would mean he should be in the bag. He cannot physically do this against a volume puncher like Zepeda, who will break him down to the body.
Zepeda’s uninterrupted pressure on Shakur
Even if Shakur’s glass hands stay together, he will be carried off by uninterrupted shots of Zepeda, especially to the head and body. He stopped more difficult fighters than Stevenson, and he would do the same to him if he tried to land a lot during the fight.
What we are going to see in this battle is Shakur running around, ends up here and then, but to keep moving while the fans from Loius Armstrong Stadium Boo. I will be here to say, “I told you so.” It’s too late for him to change his fighting style.
If Stevenson were to change his approach to fight by becoming a pocket fighter, he would have done it already when he was thrown from the T-Mobile Arena in his fight against De Los Santos. He had the perfect opponents to experiment with a new style in his last two games against the lights Meeters Padley and Harutyunyan. The guys had no doll in their push, and we were well fed before being selected as Stevenson’s opponents.
Alalshikh’s Richtly: No “Tom and Jerry”
Shakur has been a runner -up since his amateur days, and he can’t change his basic nature to become a pocket fighter. I predict that he will ignore Turki Alalshikh’s Richtie of No “Tom and Jerry” fights, show the fight against the rule by moving uninterrupted, chasing Zepeda like a cat chasing a mouse and trying to win a decision in an amateur -like battle.
Hearn predicts Stevenson will fight through pain
“I’m sure his hands will be pitched in this battle (injured). The one thing you can’t do is show any signs. You just have to find a way. We don’t see it as a problem. In Shakur’s mind, it is necessary in any way, whatever it needs. He’s going to end up a lot of learning on Zepeda. He can force that downtime for a fantastic fighter, “Hearn says.
Stevenson vs. Zepeda: Low output?
We are going to see a low punch output in the 100s for Shakur against Zepeda. What we saw from William Scull against Canelo Alvarez last May will be similar to how Stevenson will perform against Zepeda.
It was an error for Turki to put Stevenson-Zepeda in the co-function. A better battle is the match between light heavyweight knockout artists, David Morrell and Imam Khataev. This is by far the best struggle on the entire map, including the main event.
Last updated on 06/18/2025
