Shakur Stevenson’s defense style can fire against William Zepeda with fans criticism

The promoter Eddie Hearn says Shakur Stevenson’s profile has risen since signing the match room last year, claiming he had “big fights” with them. Fans do not agree with Hearn. They believe Stevenson’s stock has been declining since last year due to the match and his performance against Josy Padley. It took him nine rounds to strike the electrician.

He expects Stevenson (23-0, 11 food) to shine on his defense of his WBC lightweight belt against William Zepeda (33-0, 27 food) on July 12.

Stevenson should look like gold in this battle, because he wants to fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis next. If he’s on his bike all night, Tank wants nothing to do with him. He doesn’t want to chase Shakur around the ring.

Hearn’s “big battles” questioned

“I believe in the short time we worked together, he had some big fights, earned big money, and his profile continued to rise,” promoter Eddie Hearn told Brian Campbell Youtube Channel, talk about Shakur Stevenson.

For the record Shakur has Only once fought Since signing a contract with two struggles with Hearn’s Matchroom Company in August 2024. The one fight was on February 22 against Josh Padley. When Hearn says Shakur has had some major battles since he signed with him, he’s a little off. The electrician, Padley, was Stevenson’s first fight from his two-fold agreement, and William Zepeda will be his second on July 12.

Shakur’s profile has decreased further since coming on board with the match room because he chose to fight Padley as his replacement opponent after Floyd Schofield pulled out of their fight last February. Stevenson was foolish to agree to the idea of ​​using Padley as his replacement opponent.

These were the three options for Shakur’s replacement.

• Herrera Cores: Unbeaten contender with a record of 17-0 with 15 knockouts. He would have been dangerous to Shakur because of his power, size and youth.
• Josh Padley: The light electricity with four knockouts eventually chosen. Hearn reportedly recommended Padley as the replacement. If the idea was to ensure that Shakur kept winning long enough to get the Gervonta Davis fight, Padley’s choice was the way to do it. Jadier Herrera would have been too risky because he had power and talent. It’s a no-no, record Shakur.
• Moussa gholam: A Moroccan fighter with no significant victories and marginal power. Surprisingly, this man was not chosen, but he is a better puncher than Padley. So, if the idea was to choose the worst of the three for Shakur, Padley was the best.

Shakur’s reputation at risk

“I think this battle is the perfect struggle to show how big he (Shakur) is. Zepeda is a tremendous fighter. I just feel the style is really suitable for him to entertain and show his class,” Hearn about Stevenson said.

Zepeda’s style is bad for Shakur, who has no choice but to run for 12 rounds from him to give a chance to win. He will not be able to stand and fight, because Zepeda is offensive better than him.

This battle is likely to be similar to how Shakur fought against Edwin de Los Santos, while running 12 rounds around the ring. The criticism that Devin Haney took on May 2 for his shy performance against Jose Ramirez will be nothing compared to how fans will dump on Stevenson.