Shakur Stevenson may have to make an adjustment before defending his WBC lightweight title against #1 rated challenger William Zepeda.
There has been talk of those two possibly fighting on Feb. 22 in Riyadh, but Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) is coming off hand surgery, and it will be a tough fight for him to jump right into what a grueling defense against would be Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs).
Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to keep Shakur undefeated long enough to get the lucrative fight against Gervonta Davis, but it would be an act of incompetence to allow him to fight Zepeda without a tune-up. Even Shakur would agree with that.
Shakur spoke boldly on X about how he was going to easily handle Zepeda, but he knows what he would be up against if he took this fight even if he was 100% healthy. To take on a fighter who cuts off the ring and attacks the body like Zepeda, Shakur will have to be at his best.
Zepeda man is nothing like the fighters Shakur has padded his record with since turning pro in 2017, and he wouldn’t be able to hold off with jabs and movement like he did against fighters at 130 and 126.
“It’s already somewhat in the works. So, I see this fight happening. I think Shakur is taking Zepeda apart,” Chris Algieri said Probox TVwhich predicts an easy win for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson over William Zepeda on February 22 if the two meet then.
Shakur-Zepeda has been talked about for the last few 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 lot of punches. He can punch, he’s strong, he can get forward, and he has a lot of sneaky defense than he shows. But when you have a master of defense like Shakur is, the way he can keep that jab in your face and make you miss by an inch and then counter you.
Since moving up to 135, Shakur has only fought one good fighter, Edwin De Los Santos, and his win against him was questionable due to the lack of offense. Shakur literally ran away from De Los Santos and was booed like crazy 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 post-fight apology about injuries did not go down well with the fans, who saw him fight the same way against pressure fighters Jeremiah Nakathilia and Joet Gonzalez.
“He is able to slow down the pace all night long, analyze and collect data; I don’t see Zepeda being able to overcome that control of distance and that ability to maintain distance,” Algieri said, going on to praise the finesse-level fighter, Shakur. “To me, it’s definitely a Shakur fight, but listen, it’s a fight we’re probably going to see.”
Shakur is obviously not as good a fighter as the picture Algieri paints of him. He was at his best at featherweight and super featherweight, but he hasn’t shown the same kind of ability since moving up to 135. He didn’t fight an opponent who averaged 100+ punches per round like Zepeda, and he didn’t have to face someone who cuts off the ring and attacks the body like he does.
“I don’t think it’s next like everybody says because Shakur is coming off a hand injury/surgery to go right into a fight with a guy like Zepeda, who’s going to come at you with a hard head. It’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,” Algieri said.
