William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) is set to challenge Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) for the WBC world lightweight championship on July 12 in New York. The match will pin the most offensive fighter in terms of output, William Zepeda against the most defensive boxer Shakur Stevenson.
Zepeda has an average output rate of 93.9 punches per round while Stevenson is the boxer who is hit the least with an average of 5.4 punches landed per round against him (Compubox). Making for a very interesting matchup.
When asked about how he thinks Shakur will handle his constant pressure, Zepeda said, “From what we’ve seen, he’ll move throughout the ring, maintain himself at distance, but we’ll have a good strategy. That seems to be the standard Stevenson approach: to minimize the damage he sustains by boxing on the outside. A master of the art of hit and not get hit. The opponent to land the most punches against Stevenson is Oscar Valdez. He did so in their super featherweight unification match, one of the few times Shakur chose to be on the offensive and exchange. He was hit a lot more as a result. Per compubox, Stevenson outlanded Valdez 189 to 110, throwing 72 more punches than him.
It is doubtful he’ll take an offensive approach against Zepeda, an opponent who sports an 81.8 percent knockout rate. The last power puncher Shakur faced was Edwin De Los Santos, and in that match, he employed a very defensive approach. He did very similar to what Zepeda described earlier, constant lateral movement and maintaining himself out of range by maintaining a safe distance from De Los Santos. His minimal output rate of 209 punches was the least he’s thrown in a 12-round match. After the fight, Shakur stated he had an injury which led to his low work rate.
When asked about the defensive versus offensive dichotomy, Zepeda said, “It’s going to be a very interesting fight, a good fight. Where our strategy will keep us afloat.” He did not go into details, but being able to cut the ring and minimize Steveson’s lateral movement will be key in being able to have any type of offensive success. He must also be quick to the trigger and throw his punches quickly, as Shakur will give him very limited opportunities to land. He has a slight reach advantage of an inch and a half; he’ll have to throw his jab when he’s within range.
Stevenson is a defensive mastermind, but he faces his toughest challenge to date in an offensive volume puncher who knows how to put immense pressure on his opponents.
William Zepeda Interview
Last Updated on 05/12/2025
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