Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda prediction, odds, pick, the best way to watch

One in all the highest pound-for-pound fighters on this planet returns to the ring when Shakur Stevenson (23-0) defends his belt against William Zepeda (33-0). It’s time to proceed our boxing odds series with a Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda prediction and pick.

Stevenson, 28, has been some of the dominant, but controversial, champions since he claimed the WBO featherweight title in 2019. Since moving as much as lightweight in 2023, it has been more of the identical, with Stevenson cruising to lopsided victories but ridiculed for his perceived lack of aggression. After leaving TopRank and joining forces with Turki Alalshikh, Stevenson is coming off a ninth-round TKO win over Josh Padley in his second defense of the WBC lightweight title.

Zepeda, 29, is receiving his first world title opportunity after nearly a decade of being some of the exciting boxers within the lightweight division. With 27 knockouts in 33 skilled victories, Zepeda presents the hardest stylistic challenge for Stevenson thus far. Zepeda is coming off consecutive wins over Tevin Farmer, one by split decision and essentially the most recent by majority decision.

Listed below are the Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda odds, courtesy of FanDuel

Boxing Odds: Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda Odds

Shakur Stevenson: -1200

William Zepeda: +680

Over 11.5 Rounds: -290

Under 11.5 Rounds: +195

The way to Watch Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda

Time: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT

Principal event ring walk time (estimated): 8:40 p.m. ET / 5:40 p.m. PT

TV/Stream: DAZN

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Why Shakur Stevenson Will Win

Stevenson is saying that he will probably be more aggressive on this fight, but he might want to remain true to form to remain ahead of Zepeda. While Stevenson rightly assessed that Zepeda is great at cutting off the cage, exchanging within the pocket with him can be a horrible idea. Zepeda has the ability to knock out any lightweight on this planet, but there isn’t a lively boxer with higher defense than Stevenson.

Fans won’t prefer it, but Stevenson is harder to hit than a fly. Since moving as much as lightweight, Stevenson has yet to soak up greater than 74 punches in a single fight. Artem Harutyunyan touched him essentially the most, but he did so while landing just 17.5 percent of his total strikes.  Stevenson has faced aggressive power punchers like Zepeda before, and none have been in a position to even leave a mark on his face.

While Zepeda is coming off consecutive 12-round decision wins over Farmer, he has been a knockout artist his entire profession. His power has taken him to the highest of the division, resulting in an 82 percent knockout rate. Nonetheless, with all but one in all his stoppages coming inside six rounds, Zepeda has hardly been forced to fight into the later rounds. Stevenson will must be cautious early, as he at all times is, but he must be the a lot better boxer within the second half of the fight.

Why William Zepeda Will Win

Many knockout artists have tried to get into Stevenson’s face before, but none were nearly as good at their craft as Zepeda. Even Stevenson acknowledged the challenge he has in front of him, saying he desires to be more aggressive within the fight to match Zepeda’s intensity.

Fans need to see Stevenson face IBF champion Gervonta Davis, but Zepeda may be the hardest stylistic matchup for him. Unlike Davis, Zepeda will get after Stevenson from the gun and force the champion to work from bell to bell. Breaking down Stevenson’s guard is way easier said than done, but Zepeda has hurt every opponent he has faced so far, even when he was unable to complete them.

Zepeda received heavy criticism after going blow-for-blow with an aging Farmer for twenty-four rounds. The criticism intensified after Farmer suffered a brutal first-round knockout loss to Floyd Schofield in his ensuing bout. But while Farmer was in a position to threaten an aggressive Zepeda together with his power, that threat won’t be the identical from Stevenson. Despite his dominance, Stevenson has just three stoppage victories in his last nine fights.

Final Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda Prediction & Pick

Zepeda will get after Stevenson and try to make him fight out of positions he has never been in before. Unfortunately for him, despite being essentially the most credentialed opponent of Stevenson’s thus far, nothing suggests he won’t change into one other victim of the champion’s stifling defense. Stevenson has held a title for half a decade but continues to be criminally underrated because of his lackluster highlight reel.

Zepeda is aggressive, but he will be sloppy when he blitzes, making it easy for an elite counter-puncher like Stevenson to see coming. Very similar to Floyd Mayweather, Stevenson visibly frustrates his opponents together with his ability to anticipate the whole lot and seemingly improve the more punches fly in his direction. The champion will force Zepeda to hesitate and think greater than he ever has before, which isn’t how he’ll pull off the upset.

Stevenson has barely more power than fans give him credit for, however it is unlikely that he’ll hurt Zepeda. The Mexican leaves himself open for counters, which is how Farmer hurt him, but Stevenson’s power is just a few notches below. He has fast hands, but Stevenson’s power was unimpressive at featherweight, and even less noticeable at lightweight. Given Stevenson’s defensive prowess but lack of fight-ending power, it’s unlikely that either fighter hits the canvas before the American likely retains his title.

Final Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda Prediction & Pick: Under 0.5 knockdowns (-180)