Pros Predict Shakur Stevenson Vs. William Zepeda – Going To Be A Massacre'
Shakur Stevenson defends his WBC Lightweight Title against undefeated mandatory challenger William Zepeda, as boxing insiders gave their predictions.
Stevenson has plenty of pressure heading into this fight. Despite making two successful defenses of the belt, with wins against Artem Harutyunyan and Josh Padley, the manner of the wins came under fire, with suggestions Shakur is not an entertaining fighter. He has also been vocal about his hand problems, as Shakur faces one of the most dangerous punchers in the division.
Zepeda has a 31-0 record, with 27 knockouts. He defeated Tevin Farmer in his last fight, the second time he had done so to maintain his mandatory position. This is by far the biggest test, as the winner will be in a position to call for a unification against Gervonta Davis. Here is how the boxing insiders saw the fight playing out.
Predictions
"Shakur is going to fight his way out [of the corner]. He’s going to show us something we’ve been waiting to see since the [Jamel] Herring fight [in 2021]. He beat the brakes on Herron. That was one of his best performances. I think we might see something like that for Shakur in this fight. I’m telling you that if his hands are healthy, it’s going to be a massacre, a landslide victory. It might be a stoppage. Zepeda fights one way. He comes forward, that’s it. I’ll tell you what I like about him. He will attack that body," Tim Bradley said
“So think about this, Floyd I believe has brittle hands, Shakur Stevenson has brittle hands. If William Zepeda keeps coming forward, throws punches, is very careful, side to side movements with his head, keeps throwing that jab because this [the shoulder roll] cannot block a jab to save your life. Throw to the body, throw to the chest, pin him in the corner and just keep throwing punches in bunches. Zepeda probably has the best output in boxing so I got William Zepeda by decision or even a stoppage against Shakur Stevenson. And I love Shakur Stevenson, he’s a great guy, but William’s my guy," De La Hoya stated
"It’s almost anti-climactic, but he dominates guys, and this is going to be another name on his ledger. Uh, it’s a big name. It’s a good name. It’s undefeated Zepeda. I mean, yeah, okay, he struggled 22 rounds with Tevin Farmer. Guess what? Everybody struggles with Tevin, but you got another name. And Zepeda is going to be a good name on the docket. It’s going to be another undefeated [fighter]. A guy with an 0 that he’s taking and is a world class guy," Chris Algieri
"You know what the best chance for Zepeda might be, honestly, in this fight, if he blocks so many punches with his face that Shakur hurts his hands and then. No, I’m serious. I’m dead serious. I’m dead serious, as crazy as it sounds, because Zepeda is not a defensive wizard anyway," Paulie Malignaggi
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