Shakur Stevenson needs to go straight right into a combat in opposition to his #1 WBC challenger, William Zepeda, when he returns to the ring from his surgically repaired injured hand in February or March 2025.
Promoter Eddie Hearn sounded iffy about whether or not WBC light-weight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) will go straight right into a combat in opposition to Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) or take one other combat earlier than that. He says his plans are nonetheless the identical for Shakur about wanting him to take one or two fights earlier than dealing with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in a mega-fight in 2025.
Zepeda will combat Tevin Farmer in a Riyadh Season occasion on November sixteenth at The Venue in Saudi Arabia. It’s a part of the Latino Night time occasion. It’ll be a tune-up combat for Zepeda in opposition to a slick boxer who helps him put together for the motion that Shakur will use after they combat subsequent 12 months.
“We’d nonetheless prefer to make that combat [Joe Cordina], however the WBC has ordered that combat with [William] Zepeda. He fights in November. So, it’s fairly doubtless that he’ll [Shakur] will go straight into that combat,” mentioned Eddie Hearn to Battle Hub TV about what Shakur Stevenson’s plans are for his subsequent combat when he returns from his injured hand in 2025.
That’s a troublesome matchup for Shakur to go straight right into a combat in opposition to Zepeda, coming off a hand harm and two poor performances in opposition to Artem Harutyunyan and Edwin De Los Santos. If issues don’t go proper for Shakur in opposition to Zepeda, Hearn might be dumped on by the boxing public for permitting Stevenson to take the Zepeda combat after coming off a hand harm.
“I consider so,” mentioned Hearn when requested if Shakur’s hand harm resulted from sparring. “Shakur was trying ahead to that combat and shifting on to Zepeda. It’s an unlucky harm, however now he’s had the operation. Shakur is 27-years-old, and a three-division world champion. It’s a small bump within the street.”
If Hearn does give Shakur a tune-up first, he must match him in opposition to somebody who has an analogous fashion as Zepeda to assist him put together. Cordina was ineffective for that function.
What Shakur wants is somebody like Oscar Duarte or Edwin De Los Santos. Both of these guys could be supreme for Shakur to prepare for Zepeda. The draw back of Shakur combating a strain fighter like Duarte or De Los Santos first is that he’ll doubtless run from them as a result of he lacks the punching energy and bodily instruments to combat within the pocket in opposition to robust fighters who hit arduous.
“The plan is to get him again to full well being and goal that return for February or March 2025,” mentioned Hearn. “The plan for me was after these two fights [Cordina and Zepeda] was to combat Gervonta Davis. That also stays the identical, whether or not that’s one combat or two fights.”
Hearn feels like he needs to gamble with Shakur by matching him in opposition to Zepeda first and hopes that he’ll come by means of that match to face Tank Davis after that. Sadly, there’s a good chance Shakur will lose to Zepeda by knockout.
“If you happen to take a look at the massive mega-fights for Gervonta Davis, it’s Shakur Stevenson,” mentioned Hearn.
