Shakur Stevenson claims he’s anxious and “can’t wait” until his planned fight against his #1 ranked contender, William Zepeda, happens in early 2025. Stevenson is talking bold right now while he’s convalescing, but he may change his tune when healthy.
The Eddie Hearn-promoted Shakur is out of commission now and dealing with a hand issue. WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) is on the shelf after right-hand surgery due to a training injury that wiped out his title defense against Joe Cordina on October 12th in Riyadh.
Shakur, 27, was supposed to be headlining the undercard portion of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol event on DAZN PPV. Stevenson needs a solid win to create fan interest for a unification match against WBA ‘regular’ lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.
The three-division world champion Stevenson’s last two fights were awful against Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos. Both contests were loudly booed by the fans at ringside, and people on social media criticized him.
Surprisingly, Hearn still felt that Shakur was worth signing to his Matchroom promotional company. He’s been talking about turning him into a “global superstar,” which suggests to some that he has no understanding of what U.S. fans view as entertainment.
Shakur’s fighting style is what passes for entertainment in the UK but not in the U.S. Americans are not interested in that archaic Mayweather-esque style.
Zepeda is taking a stay-busy fight against former super featherweight world champion Tevin Farmer on November 16th at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
After that fight, Zepeda will be ready to challenge Shakur for his WBC title if he can make it through training camp without suffering another injury breakdown.
If Stevenson goes through with the fight with Zepeda, it could end badly for him because the Mexican power puncher has the power and talent he’s not equipped to handle.
Shakur hasn’t looked good since moving up to the 135-lb division in 2023, and his injury problems are making him a sickbay commando. Last November, Stevenson blamed his poor performance against Edwin De Los Santos on being injured.
No one believed Shakur because that’s how he always fought. However, if Shakur really was injured in the De Los Santos fight, it shows that he’s not physically capable of fighting at 135 without falling apart.
His injuries signal that Stevenson’s body can’t handle the rigors of the lightweight division, where the fighters are much stronger and rugged than the fighters at 126 and 130. If Shakur returned from whence he came at super featherweight, he might get healthy again.
Yooooo I swear I can’t wait til fight day 😂😂
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) September 22, 2024
