WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson says ring size doesn’t matter to him for his potential title defense against William Zepeda on February 22 in Riyadh. Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) is confident he will prevail against Zepeda no matter what size ring they fight in.
During his Clap Back Thursday post, Zepeda’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, told Shakur’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, that a condition for the event to take place is that it be in a “small ring.” must be to prevent “running” .” De La Hoya specifically felt he would be the fighters to run, but Shakur and Devin Haney were too likely.
Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) has yet to win his 10-round fight against Tevin Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) on Nov. 16 in Riyadh. The event will take place if Zepeda wins that fight and the other fighters on the card agree to fight in a smaller ring on the February 22nd card.
De La Hoya has not said what size ring he wants, but he may want a 16-foot ring, the smallest size for a professional boxing match. With that size, it will be impossible for Shakur to run or use his three-foot step-back style to evade pressure.
If Shakur, 27, loses the fight, he will have something to blame it on. He can tell his fans that the ring was too small for him to move, and they will sympathize with him. Zepeda has the ability to cut off the ring no matter what size, and he’s going to be a lot of trouble for Shakur if this fight happens.
Fans are skeptical that a smaller ring will prevent Shakur from running because he will find a way to stop Zepeda from getting to him, even in a phone booth. One fan on social media said, “Ring size doesn’t matter. MF (Shakur) is still going to participate.”
Shakur is coming off hand surgery from a training camp injury that caused the cancellation of his October 12th fight against Joe Cordina in Riyadh. He’s coming off surgery and hasn’t looked good since moving up to the 135-lb division in 2023. Shakur has reached his ceiling for what he is capable of doing at lightweight after successfully campaigning at 130 and 126.
Roads are closing 😤 the ring size doesn’t matter to me either @OscarDeLaHoya https://t.co/iIiMnDJlmG
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 8, 2024
