Shakur Stevenson is talking up his next fight against William Zepeda on July 12th in New York City. He says the press conference for the fight is “coming soon.” Still referring to himself as the “best fighter in the world,” Shakur has a lot of pressure on him after his last three lackluster performances.

(Credit: Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom)

Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) will be defending his WBC lightweight title against interim champ Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) on the undercard of Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz on DAZN PPV.

The Marketability Risk

Boxing fans are concerned that Shakur will make the Zepeda fight another dull one with his hit-and-not-get-hit style. The Newark, New Jersey native will almost have to run all night because with Zepeda’s high volume punching, he won’t stand a chance if he fights him in the trenches like Tevin Farmer did twice. Shakur isn’t as rugged or as powerful as Farmer.

If he’s stationary against the Mexican slugger, he’ll get chopped apart like many of his past opponents. Running will result in the fans booing Shakur out of the venue, hurting his marketability even more than it already is.

It’s a fight in which Stevenson has little chance of looking good. He either stands and fights and gets knocked out, or he runs around the ring all night like he did against Edwin De Los Santos. Getting booed again could permanently affect Shakur’s marketability. He hasn’t worn out his welcome with Turki Alalshikh yet, but it could happen quickly if he turns in another dud.

Counting on Turki?

Shakur is counting on Turki getting him the Gervonta Davis fight next if he’s victorious against Zepeda, but that might not happen if he backs up all night and doesn’t engage. His defensive approach to fighting isn’t appreciated by fans in this modern era of boxing. If Stevenson were back in the Mayweather era, many years ago, fans would put up with watching his fights. Not now, though.

But Igh July 12th the day press conference coming soon, I’m on that!! IM THE BEST FIGHTER IN THE WORLD STILL UNDEFEATED FOR THAT REASON LETS GO!!!😈

— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) May 5, 2025