Shakur Lines Up Zepeda, But Is De La Hoya Stopping It?
Shakur Stevenson is open to fighting William Zepeda next.
Stevenson had his final fight with Top Rank, beating Artem Harutyunyan to retain his WBC Lightweight Title. Shakur rejected a $15 million offer to stay with Top Rank, which would have been for five fights. The boxer will now explore his free agency. Matchroom Boxing, PBC, and Golden Boy Promotions are the leading names. Hearn has expressed his interest in signing Shakur, calling him unbeatable.
Stevenson has also had a call with Floyd Mayweather over FaceTime about the idea of signing with PBC. De La Hoya became another interested party. He hinted at the idea of a fight with William Zepeda. The Mexican is undefeated with a 31-0 record, which includes 27 KOs. He was considered an opponent for Shakur before the Artem fight. But to make that fight, De La Hoya has said Shakur must sign with him.
De La Hoya Reacts
“Had a great meeting with @ShakurStevenson representatives. @williamzepeda2 will only fight him if Shakur is signed to @GoldenBoyBoxing,” De La Hoya said
Those comments will not help Shakur for the following reasons. First of all, it suggests that De La Hoya will look to tie him down to a long-term deal. Shakur risks being put on the shelf and not getting the biggest fights. That is the same reason why he left Top Rank. Bouts with Vasiliy Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez failed to materialize despite them all being with Top Rank. A deal with Matchroom may be more productive.
Hearn’s fighters also box on DAZN, making it easier to make the Zepeda fight since Golden Boy fighters are also on the platform. Hearn has more options through DAZN and his fighters. DAZN has done business with PBC before when they made the Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia fight. Since Shakur wants the Tank fight, Matchroom is a possible option.
Hearn Responds
There is also the Devin Haney fight since The Dream works closely with Matchroom despite not being signed to them. Further fights at 140 with Subriel Matias and IBF Junior Welterweight Champion Liam Paro, are also possible. That all depends on if Shakur is willing to move up to 140. Regardless, Hearn hit out at De La Hoya for trying to stifle Shakur’s career.
“For me, I don’t really care for tying a fighter down for five fights or three years. If they like working with you, they like working with you. If they don’t, they don’t. Someone like Golden Boy and those kinds of guys. They will only allow him [Shakur] to fight William Zepeda if he signs a long-term deal with them.
“He [Oscar De La Hoya] also said that he would only make the fight if he was with Golden Boy, which is a disgrace to boxing. This is from a guy who says promoters should work together and that the best should fight the best. Now, you can only get Zepeda if you’re with Golden Boy, which is bizarre. We’re [Matchroom Boxing] with the same platform [DAZN],” Hearn stated
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