William Zepeda Openly Welcomes the Challenge from Shakur Stevenson!
Often, social media is a platform where simmering tensions are exposed. Could that be the case for lightweights Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) and William Zepeda (27-0, 23 KOs)?
SHOTS FIRED/THE CLAP-BACK
There has been an ongoing public spat between “Fearless” Stevenson and “Camaron” Zepeda. The first shot across the bow was from Stevenson. In response to the speculation that Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz is running from a fight with him, the two-division world champ went to social media and mentioned Zepeda as an opponent he would like to fight instead. Zepeda responded by telling Stevenson to keep his name out of his mouth. Stevenson’s retort called for settling matters in the ring.
Zepeda is coming off a dominant twelve-round unanimous decision win over ex-junior lightweight champion Joseph Diaz in October 2022. After winning world titles at 126 and 130, Stevenson has moved to 135. The last time fans saw him in the ring, he outboxed and outfought Robson Conceicao en route to a unanimous decision victory in September 2022.
WHEN THERE’S SMOKE THERE’S FIRE
Stevenson has previously expressed a willingness to fight Zepeda. The 24-year-old feels he can beat anyone in the division. Zepeda has created a lot of buzz over the past twelve months because of his impressive wins and exciting fighting style. A fight between the two would pit Stevenson’s boxing IQ versus the aggressiveness and power of Zepeda. Hardcore fans would definitely welcome it.
There’s a scenario where you could see a fight between the two. They both are ranked highly by the four major sanctioning bodies. With undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney most likely to next face three-division champion Vasyl Lomachenko early in 2023, one could envision either the WBO, WBA, or IBF ordering Stevenson and Zepeda as a world title eliminator.
There are multiple instances where social media spats serve as a catalyst to an actual fight. Could the back-and-forth involving Stevenson and Zepeda be the latest example? It’s something to keep an eye on.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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