Shakur Stevenson says he’s not going to fight the way William Zepeda wants him to be standing and engaging in their DAZN PPV fight this Saturday, July 12th, in Queens, New York. The hit-and-run style that Stevenson uses will be under a big test against Zepeda.
Shakur’s Elusive Fight Style
Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) says it’s Zepeda’s job to “stop me” from moving. Those words won’t make Turki Alalshikh happy because it confirms that he picked “Jerry” as the opponent for “Tom,” William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) for his event at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Turki said he didn’t want fighters who don’t engage, but then he chose Shakur, who is a classic Jerry type of fighter, lacking the power or temperament to stand and fight. He could have solved that problem by excluding Shakur from his events and focusing only on exciting fighters who want to entertain. Turki could live to regret choosing Stevenson if he is booed out of the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Saturday.
Shakur: “Fight My Fight”
“We’re making sure we come out victorious and beat his a***. I think he’s going to push me to a new level,” said Shakur Stevenson to the Ring Magazine YouTube channel about William Zepeda. “That’s a method he’s trying to use to get me to fight his fight,” said Shakur, reacting to being told that Zepeda doesn’t think he’s going to stand and engage. Based on Stevenson’s comment, it appears he’s correct.”
If you saw Shakur’s fights against Edwin De Los Santos and Jeremia Nakathilia, you can already picture how Saturday’s bout with Zepeda is going to play out. Stevenson will throw single shots and retreat with his lead arm out to prevent Zepeda from getting near.
Stevenson Defends Style
“I don’t fight nobody else’s fight. I fight my own. If I do go out there and move, stop it. Make sure you come out there and win,” said Shakur about his challenge to Zepeda to prevent him from running. “Don’t complain about what I’m doing. Stop me from doing what I’m doing. So, that’s why they can’t beat me,” said Stevenson when told that no one has prevented him from running.”
What Shakur isn’t saying is that the reason he hasn’t been beaten at lightweight is that he’s been fighting these guys:
– Josh Padley
– Artem Harutyunyan
– Shuichiro Yoshino
– Edwin De Los Santos
Lightweight Division’s Best
Stevenson has skipped past all the dangerous fighters in the 135-lb division in favor of those fighters. Even with Zepeda, Shakur isn’t fighting the best lightweights. These are the guys that are seen as the best at 135:’
- Andy Cruz
- Abdullah Mason
- Gervonta Davis
- Floyd Schofield
- Raymond Muratalla
- Jadier Herrera
It won’t be interesting for fans who want to see action because Shakur will hit, move, and hold all night. Zepeda gets hit too much and lacks a jab to deal with the tactics that Stevenson will be using.
It still won’t be easy for Shakur because he’s going to get hit a lot more than he has in any of his other fights in his career. He can’t avoid that. Offensively, Zepeda is a lot better than anyone Stevenson has faced.