Shakur Stevenson obtained some information at present: the WBC ordered a struggle between him and his #1 ranked contender, William Zepeda.
De La Hoya’s Cryptic Tweet
The information shortly turned bitter when Zepeda’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, posted on Twitter, “Examine this out: William Zepeda is so unhealthy, no one will inform him who he should struggle subsequent.”
There’s no different method of taking a look at that comment by De La Hoya however to see it as a duck on his half as a result of if he needed a assured title shot for Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), he would have been overjoyed that the WBC was ordering it.
De La Hoya desires Zepeda to face WBO light-weight champion Denys Berinchyk, and he has the #1 rating with that group to make it occur subsequent, offered the World Boxing Group orders it. High Rank promotes Berinchyk, they usually’re enthusiastic about having their fighter, #3 WBO Keyshawn Davis, challenged for the title.
Stevenson’s Disappointment and Uncertainty
Shakur reacted to De La Hoya’s remark with a crying emoji in X, displaying his unhappiness. He mentioned, “No one speaking about these dudes ducking in broad daylight.”
With Zepeda off the desk for Shakur’s subsequent struggle, it’s unclear who his subsequent promoter will match him in opposition to. Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing has expressed curiosity in signing Shakur, however the man who repeatedly mentioned he needed to match him in opposition to is Zepeda.
The one different identify that Hearn had talked about watching to arrange a struggle with for Shakur is Liam Paro, the IBF 140-lb champion. However for that struggle to occur, Shakur would want to maneuver as much as mild welterweight, which could mess issues up for him to maintain his WBC light-weight title.
If Hearn can’t get Zepeda, Shakur may want to think about signing with De La Hoya or inking with Mayweather Promotions or PBC. De La Hoya will give Shakur Zepeda if he indicators with Golden Boy, however it’s unclear what number of fights he would want to conform to for that to occur.
If De La Hoya makes use of Zepeda as leverage, he may be capable of rope him right into a long-term deal simply off that one struggle.
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 15, 2024
What we doing @williamzepeda2🥱 https://t.co/0NNdngWsIW
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 15, 2024
