Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda: Preview & Prediction
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Come July 12th, reigning and defending undefeated WBC World Lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson (23-0-0) returns to the ring. He makes his third title defense. He will face fellow undefeated WBC World Interim Lightweight champion William Zepeda (33-0-0). The match will be inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium located in Queens, New York. Elite talent will clash inside the ring. This highly-anticipated world title matchup will be on Saturday. Both men will put their unblemished records on the line.
Tale of the Tape
Stevenson, 28, takes on arguably the toughest test of his career. The supremely talented southpaw outside boxer has consistently dominated his previous competition—stacking up one-sided, unanimous decision victories left and right. Stevenson’s toughest fight was against Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC World Lightweight title. This match happened back in November 2023. The judges’ scorecards were extremely tight in this trying stylistic clash. Stevenson had to negate the looming threat from the hard-hitting De Los Santos. Stevenson edged the victory only using his right hand, claiming that he broke his left hand. Since then, Stevenson has achieved two title defenses of his WBC lightweight strap. He has defeated fighters like Artem Harutyunyan and Josh Padley. His impressive ninth-round TKO victory against then-unbeaten Josh Padley back in February earned back some of the lost fanfare.
Zepeda, 29, faces his most formidable opponent to date in the slick outside boxer Stevenson. Zepeda enters this fight as the larger man in stature and hopes to capitalize on the size disparity. The interim champion boasts an impressive 81% knockout rate, making him a fan-friendly spectacle. Also a southpaw, Zepeda will be forced to battle for control of the ring versus the defensively sound reigning champion. He holds a remarkable gas tank that allows for a seemingly nonstop output inside the ring. In his last fight, Zepeda engaged in a fiery rematch against the savvy veteran Tevin Farmer. The undefeated interim champion threw a jaw-dropping 1,087 punches and landed 527. The first Zepeda-Farmer fight was extremely close. Zepeda earned a split-decision that time around. In the rematch back in March, he secured a majority decision.
Fight Prediction
Fans are in for a treat with this world title southpaw clash—displaying contrasting styles inside the ring. That said, William Zepeda faces a daunting challenge. He must close the distance on the elite outside fighter. At the same time, he needs to avoid counter-punches from Shakur Stevenson.
Stevenson has not faced many volume punchers of relevance like Zepeda. He will need to put together a sound gameplan to deal with the undefeated interim champion. He will stick to his bread and butter with supreme footwork, defensive consciousness, and counter-punching. Zepeda has shown to leave himself open for clean counter-punches in the past. This goes back to his first fight against Tevin Farmer. He was knocked down in the fourth-round. Expect Zepeda to try to force Stevenson back to the ropes. There, he can unload heavy combinations on the smaller man. Ultimately, Stevenson’s pedigree and ring IQ will prove to be too much for Zepeda. Zepeda has not faced the likes of Stevenson’s talent as a professional.
Prediction: Shakur Stevenson via Unanimous Decision
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