Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda ‘Verbally’ Agreed; De La Hoya Calls It ‘Fake News’
Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda has reportedly been agreed ‘verbally’ for October 12, while Oscar De La Hoya has called it fake news.
According to reports, the fight will take place on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol, who will fight for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship in Saudi Arabia. The news follows after the WBC ordered the mandatory Zepeda to fight Stevenson for his WBC Lightweight Title.
De La Hoya initially distanced himself from the fight, saying no one would tell his fighter who to box. De La Hoya stated that Shakur would only get that fight if he signed with Golden Boy. Since De La Hoya ruled out signing Shakur, it appeared that Golden Boy focused on getting a fight with the WBO Lightweight Champion Denys Berinchyk.
WBC Mandatory
“Had a great meeting with @ShakurStevenson representatives. @williamzepeda2 will only fight him if Shakur is signed to @GoldenBoyBoxing,” De La Hoya said
“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
Stevenson’s Next Fight
Since then, things have changed. The Saudis have announced a deal with Golden Boy Promotions, allowing them to work together to make the biggest fights. Their first fight will see them help stage Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Serhii Bohachuk on August 10. Shakur is now a free agent after the expiry of his Top Rank deal, which could benefit him moving forward. Meanwhile, Shakur denied rumours that he had agreed on a deal to fight Gervonta Davis in November.
Speculation emerged that Davis could box Stevenson next after Vasiliy Lomachenko pulled out of fight talks. Loma’s manager, Egis Klimas, has said his fighter is not motivated right now to take that fight. Meanwhile, Davis’ coach, Calvin Ford, has said they will send Shakur’s team a contract. Despite the talk of a fight, Shakur and Davis have denied that this is the case.
A win over Zepeda would be Shakur’s biggest scalp. The three-division champion has been called out for his defensive style, which has resulted in jeers. His performances against Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan showed that. However, Zepeda is a knockout artist, which may force Shakur to take the fight to him. The Mexican is currently 31-0 with 27 KOs. If Shakur vs. Zepeda is announced, it will be the perfect test for a Tank Davis fight. Davis likes to walk down his opponent before stopping them. So the question remains whether Stevenson has enough firepower to keep Zepeda off him, which will be vital for beating Davis. And yet, De La Hoya has called it fake news.
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