De La Hoya: “I Need More Exposure For Zepeda To Fight Shakur”

Shakur Stevenson Will Need To Look For A New Opponent

Oscar De La Hoya declines to pit William Zepeda against Shakur Stevenson
Oscar De La Hoya with William Zepeda (Credit: Tom Hogan), Shakur Stevenson (corner)

Oscar De La Hoya Declines Shakur Stevenson v William Zepeda For Now


Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya loves the idea of making a fight between his fighter, lightweight contender William Zepeda (27-0, 23KO), and two-divisional champion Shakur “Fearless” Stevenson (19-0, 9KO). Except, he isn’t ready to do it right now.

Oscar De La Hoya prefers to push back Stevenson v Zepeda
Oscar De La Hoya prefers to push back Stevenson v Zepeda

Fearless has been on the heels of fighting the so-called boogeyman in Zepeda since November. In addition, he proposed that the winner could fight for the undisputed crown.

Zepeda accepted the challenge and requested a contract. Stevenson took to social media to announce the documents had been sent, setting social media on fire and exciting the boxing community.

Team Stevenson sends an offer to Team Zepeda
Team Stevenson sends an offer to Team Zepeda

Then came the twist. After a few days of not hearing anything, Fearless took to social media, curious as to why Zepeda went radio silent. This created an eye-popping back-and-forth between the two fighters.

STEVENSON IS BACK TO SEARCHING FOR AN OPPONENT

In the end, Stevenson revealed that Golden Boy turned down the fight using De La Hoya’s tweet as confirmation. The two-divisional champion swiftly made sure Zepeda was aware of that fact.

Shakur Stevenson uses Oscar De La Hoya's response as evidence
Shakur Stevenson uses Oscar De La Hoya’s response as evidence

With the Zepeda fight no longer an option, Stevenson is back to trying to get a fight with a legit lightweight opponent. With all of the bigger names busy, the New Jersey native may have to settle for some less than attractive options.

Stevenson can look to fight guys like Denys Berinchyk, Jeremias Nakathila, Angel Fierro, Gustavo Lemos, or Jezreel Corales. It will be interesting to see who he finally steps in the ring against in 2023.

By: Garrisson Bland

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Garrisson Bland - Head of Public Relations/Senior Journalist. Garrisson is the Head of Public relations for 3kingsboxing.com as well as a senior writer. He is also the host of YouTube boxing show "Truth And Facts Sports Talk."