Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda: Promoter Eddie Hearn Foresees a Late-Round Stoppage for Shakur, Highlighting His Underestimated Punching Power

Promoter Eddie Hearn is picking WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson to pick William Zepeda apart, and knock him out in the later rounds of their fight on July 12th in Queens, New York.

Shakur’s Punching Power

Hearn says that fans don’t realize that Shakur (23-0, 10 KOs) is a puncher who just happens to have great technical skills. His last fight against Josh Padley showed his power when he stopped him with a body shot last February.

What prevents Stevenson from being more of a puncher is his brittle hands. He’s had hand problems for a while now, and he only seems capable of throwing with power to the body. That’s a safe area for a fighter with fragile hands to throw to.

“I actually think Shakur is going to stop Zepeda. I know people have the perception that Shakur is not a puncher. He’s technically fantastic, but I think the style of Zepeda will suit him,” said Eddie Hearn to the Ring Magazine YouTube channel, predicting a win for Shakur Stevenson over William Zepeda.

That knockout win that Shakur picked up in his last fight against his late replacement opponent, Josh Padley, may have given Hearn a false impression. That was plain old-fashioned matchmaking at play. Hearn chose a part-time boxer from the UK as the fill-in when the originally scheduled opponent, Floyd Schofield, pulled out. In hindsight, that was a lucky break for Shakur.

If Stevenson stands in the pocket and tries to knock out Zepeda, he’s going to get machine-gunned with combinations from the Mexican brawler. The only way Shakur can exist in the pocket against Zepeda is if he does a lot of holding like Tevin Farmer did to survive.

“He’ll pick him off. I think he’ll hurt him to the body and I think he’ll stop him late in the fight because Zepeda is a proud man. That’s why I love this fight so much,” said Hearn.

Stevenson’s Body Shot Strategy

Stevenson won’t be able to stand in front of Zepeda and load up with body shots like he did against the electrician Padley. That won’t work. He’ll get hit too much and be forced to move out of the pocket to escape the avalanche of punches Zepeda will be throwing. Standing there would be asking for trouble for Shakur.