Shakur Stevenson stubbornly insists the fight with William Zepeda will still occur despite his comments about Turki Alalshikh “going back on the sum of money he had previously offered him previously.
The Recent Jersey native wants that fight with the unbeaten Zepeda, believing it’s easy and can set the table for a unification match against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis. Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has it mapped out along with his vision of Zepeda resulting in the mega-fight with Tank.
Shakur’s Value?
Stevenson says the WBC has “ordered” the fight with Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs), and he’ll go the purse-bid route in the event that they can’t reach a deal. It’s expected that Shakur WON’T reach a take care of Zepeda’s promoters at Golden Boy because he’ll price himself out of the Zepeda fight. If Shakur takes it to a handbag bid, he may not like what he finds.
He’ll discover his true value. Turki won’t swoop in and pay Shakur the type of dough he hopes to get. It will be interesting to know what Stevenson hoped to get for the Zepeda fight. If it’s the $5 million to $10 million range, he’s crazy. He’s an undercard fighter, not a headliner.
Performance Concerns
That shall be a difficult fight for Stevenson, too, and he might lose to Zepeda. The one way Shakur can win is by running like he did against Edwin De Los Santos, and if he fights like that, he’ll be booed nonstop by the fans, and his marketability will plummet further than it at all times is.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur claims the Saudis are attempting to “benefit from me” by offering “way less” than he got for his last title defense against Josh Padley on February twenty second.
“The fight is ordered by the WBC. I’m still Champion and aren’t pulling out of anything. If we will’t reach a deal, then purse bids it’s. See you soon,” said Shakur Stevenson on X about him being convinced that his fight with WBC mandatory William Zepeda will still occur next.
“I might cook dude so badly he’s a mismatch,” Shakur said about his hoped-for fight against Zepeda.
Shakur was rumored to have been paid thoroughly by Turki for the fight against the electrician Padley and looked awful, struggling to attain a ninth-round stoppage against the light-hitting substitute opponent. After that lackluster performance by Shakur, who could blame the Saudis in the event that they’re not offering him the identical money as before?
There’s no marketplace for a boring fighter like Shakur on PPV, and Zepeda has his own problems along with his back-to-back narrow wins over Tevin Farmer. The best way Stevenson is fighting, he belongs on the preliminary cards because he doesn’t entertain. Boxing is part of the entertainment business, and he’s an eyesore with how he fights.
Negotiation Breakdown
“I need this fight so bad that these dudes need to benefit from me by giving me way lower than I got for [Josh] Padley simply because they know the way bad I need it!” said Shakur about his claims that Turki Alalshikh had promised him an sum of money for the Zepeda fight previously and is now “going way back on that number.”
“Oh yeah, and I’m not done negotiating cause one thing bout it’s I’m the champ. So whether the fight gets done with these people [the Saudis] or not, I’m stepping on dude [William Zepeda], however the fight shall be made next!!!!
“Oscar DeLaHoya, keep your line open. Let’s make this fight occur,” said Stevenson.
Last Updated on 04/06/2025
