Shakur Stevenson has confirmed that William Zepeda is next for him in February if he wins his fight against Tevin Farmer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
(Credit Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
Zepeda faces 34-year-old veteran Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) at Latino Night at The Venue. This is the final step for Zepeda before he challenges Shakur on February 22 as part of a huge card in Riyadh.
Farmer is seen as a small speed bump for Zepeda on his way to world title glory, and he probably won’t last more than three or four rounds at his best. That’s when Boer runs.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) could end his brief reign as a belt holder when he faces Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs). You can tell from how Shakur constantly brings up #1 ranked Zepeda that he’s concerned, and for good reason.
Zepeda = A Nightmare Shakur’s Reign
This guy can ruin her and promoter Eddie Hearn’s dreams of a mega-fight against Gervonta Davis in 2025. Hearn signed Shakur with the idea of ​​him getting the massive money fight against Tank, but if he is taken out by Zepeda, his short fight contract with Matchroom Boxing will NOT be extended.
High-volume puncher Zepeda goes all over Shakur, drowning him with shots and forcing him to move more than he ever has during his seven-year professional career, starting in 2017 after Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez dominated him in the 2016 Olympics have.
That loss resulted in Shakur not being able to stand and fight as he was on his bike for the full three laps being chased by Robeisy. We’ll likely see the same thing when Shakur faces Zepeda, who is even better at cutting off the ring against his prey than Robeisy.
Hopefully Shakur doesn’t cry afterwards without tears as he did after his loss to Robeisy. It was so strange. When do you see something like this?
Hearn seems like a nice guy, but he’s incredibly naive when judging the ability of safety-first fighters like Shakur, who isn’t among the best at 135 and shouldn’t be holding a world title belt after his questionable win Edwin Delos Santos last year on November 16. Shakur didn’t earn a win in that fight as he ran for 12 full rounds and only landed jabs.
There would be no point in Hearn keeping a safety-first fighter like Shakur in his prestigious company as he focuses on having the best. Shakur wouldn’t meet those standards if Zepeda crushed him on February 22nd. Hearn wants to keep his team lean and mean, filled with the best fighters. Shakur will be useless ballast for his Matchroom company if he gets blown out of the water by Zepeda.
Boer hopes to upset Zepeda’s plans
“He’s definitely one of the best in the 135-lb division. If I had to rank, I’d say top five,” Tevin Farmer said iFL TV when asked about his opponent, William Zepeda, for Saturday. “It won’t be an upset for real boxing fans, no, but for casual ones, yes,” Farmer said of him possibly beating Zepeda.
“I’m the guy who spoils all the parties. I don’t have much wear on my body. I am here to spoil the party and represent my country.”
It sounds like Farmer still doesn’t understand what his role is in the Zepeda fight. Boer is the sacrificial lamb, brought in strictly for show purposes to make Zepeda look like the equivalent of the precious $350 million Hope Diamond. The smart Boer has a style that approximates Shakur’s, and Zepeda will dismantle that style in front of the entire civilized world on Saturday night.
What will be interesting to see is if Shakur loses his nerve and chooses NOT to defend against Zepeda after watching what he does to Farmer. It’s a fight Shakur doesn’t have to take because Zepeda isn’t his mandatory challenger. So he could go along with Hearn’s original plan to defend against Joe Cordina next and then face WBA champion Tank Davis in a unification.
Yes 🦾 https://t.co/Zbx6W5hBcR
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 14, 2024
