Promoter Eddie Hearn says his warrior Shakur Stevenson won’t be able to run around in the ring on Saturday night, because William Zepeda will be behind him all night on July 12.
Hearn has been wrong before, and I suspect he will cover his ears to dampen the evil if WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (23-0, 11 COs) prefers not to stand and fight against the challenger Zepeda (33-0, 27 COs).
Turki Alalshikh laid out its Tom and Jerry -Richtly for the fighters on Saturday’s map. If Shakur prefers to ignore him, it will be interesting to see the look on Turki’s face while watching.
Hearn: Shakur can’t run
‘Zepeda is going to emerge all night. Shakur won’t be able to run around in the ring. He doesn’t run around the ring anyway. He is just very smart, ”says Eddie Hearn of the Ring Magazine channelGive a euphemistic label to Shakur Stevenson’s run. “
Notice how Hearn caught himself after acknowledging that Shakur is a runner -up. He quickly changed his tune by saying that he “does not run.” This is a guy Freudian slip. He spoke the truth about Jerry, and caught himself and reversed the course.
“I get all these Tom and Jerry things. You must do your best not to be hit. Turki Alalshikh is not in the fighter’s camp as he looks at the long life of a fighter’s career. He just wants entertainment, and he wants it now. He pays the best dollar for entertainment, ‘says Hearn.
It doesn’t matter if Turki is not in Shakur or other fighter camps. If he pays them millions for entertainment, he should expect them not to run in the ring, and the joint stinks while the fans are BOO. He wants his events to do well, bring in good numbers and be praised by fans as value.
Turki can’t do this if he allows fighters to turn their battles into Tom and Jerry issues. So he is not wrong because he expected Shakur to fight. Ideally, don’t invite him if he turns his fight against William Zepeda into a track event. Stevenson has received the warning, and if he prefers to disregard it, do not invite him. This is what I would do if I was Turki.
Turki claim action
“You just aren’t going to change these fighters their style because Turki wants an entertaining battle. I think that’s the kind of fight where Shakur really shows his greatness,” says Hearn.
If the runners like Shakur and Devin Haney refuse to change their styles, Turki can phase them out and focus on using only the entertaining. They will change his mind if Turki leaves them from his invitation list, which I would have done centuries ago. You cannot expect Stevenson to change how he is fighting because he is not physically suitable for fighting in the bag at 135 or even at 130.
Last updated on 07/11/2025
