Shakur Stevenson responded to his critics and doubters today, telling them not to “start backtracking now” after they’d predicted that he’s going to lose to William Zepeda on July 12th. Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) wants the skeptical fans to “stand on” the comments they made about him.
Fans Want Action: Zepeda Fight
Fans don’t want WBC lightweight champion Shakur to use his hit-and-not-get-hit style for the Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) fight, and they don’t want to hear about how his brittle hands were too injured for him to fight in the pocket. Turki Alalshikh said today he wants to see “blood” for his events.
Stevenson’s style doesn’t align with the no-running mandate that Turki has established. Against the 100+ punches per round output of Zepeda, he won’t last more than three rounds. It’s not that Shakur is going to openly defy Turki’s no “Tom and Jerry” type fights.
His style doesn’t fit for all-action. The Newark, New Jersey native was poorly chosen, and doesn’t have the offensive artillery to fight a punching machine like Zepeda. Stevenson is at his best against fighters like Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and Shuichiro Yoshino.
Shakur Responds to Doubters
“Don’t start backtracking now. July 12th is right around the corner. Stand on everything y’all said bout me. And William Zepeda, remember all that bulls*** you said, how you’re stopping me? Let’s see you do that, MF!!,” said Shakur Stevenson on X.
There’s going to be a lot of laughing from fans if Shakur turns his fight against Zepeda into a track meet on July 12th, because this is a highly visible contest on DAZN PPV. Turki will be watching, and he’ll be furious if the fight is boring like the three main event Times Square fights last May. Those fighters were paid millions, but none of them delivered exciting performances.
It’s unclear how much Shakur is getting for the Zepeda fight, but you’ve got to believe it’s in the millions for him to be the chief support.