WBC Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson Confesses William Zepeda is a “Punching Machine Like No One Else” He’s Fought

Shakur Stevenson admits that he’s fighting a stone-cold killer on July 12th in his chief support bout against William Zepeda in Queens, New York. WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) has stopped bragging and finally confessed that he’s facing a punching machine like no one else he’s fought before in his eight-year professional career.

Shakur’s Hand Power Issue

He knows that Zepeda is on another level than he is offensively. So, he’s saying that he thinks he punches harder and can knock him out. However, what little power Shakur had when he was fighting at 126 and 130 didn’t carry over when he moved to 135.

Moreover, his brittle hands make it even tougher for him to generate power. Hence, we’re seeing Shakur throw to the body more because this is an area where fighters with fragile hands can throw at to provide a cushion to allow them to avoid re-injuring their hands.

Zepeda’s Nonstop Punching Threat

“I’m fighting against the beast in the division. This guy is 33-0, 27 knockouts; he’s a cold killer, a machine. He doesn’t stop punching a guy that has been waiting for his moment,” said Shakur Stevenson to the Ring Magazine YouTube channel, talking about William Zepeda.

It’s good that Shakur knows what he’s up against on July 12th. You’d hate to see him charging straight into a massacre without having properly scouted what he’ll be dealing with, fighting a punching machine like Zepeda.

Stevenson is no tougher than past ‘Camaron’ Zepeda’s past knockout victims, Mercito Gesta and Giovanni Cabrera. Indeed, I doubt that Stevenson could take half as much punishment as Zepeda Gesta did in his sixth-round knockout loss in 2023.

Gesta tried running from Zepeda, but it didn’t work. He cut off the ring on him, forcing Mercito to slug it out, and was overwhelmed with punches. The body shots that Zepeda landed took the wheels out from under the tough Filipino fighter, leaving him with no choice but to post up against the ropes for a last stand in the sixth.

The same thing will likely happen with Shakur. He’ll run at first, but once Zepeda lands the body, his legs will fail him, and he’ll have to stand and fight the Mexican volume puncher in the trenches. Unfortunately, Stevenson isn’t suited for that kind of warfare and will crumble as quickly, perhaps before the sixth.

If Shakur can’t run, he won’t last more than five rounds against Zepeda because he’s nowhere near tough enough to take the avalanche of punches that he’ll be taking from him, like Gesta and Tevin Farmer did. He is a great runner, but in terms of taking punishment, Shakur is average and highly vulnerable.

“I know what I’m going against. A lot of people try to compare this fight to when I fought Oscar Valdez [in 2022 at super featherweight]. Oscar Valdez pressures you, but he’s not throwing nonstop punches over and over. Zepeda is a guy who throws nonstop punches. He’s going to try to break your will,” said Stevenson.

Stevenson’s Low Punch Output

What Shakur fails to add is that he has no chance of matching Zepeda’s high output, nor does he possess the punching power to slow down his bombardment.

In Stevenson’s last fight against Josh Padley last February, he threw 419 shots, which was a lot for him, as his opponent had no power to make him cautious. Shakur averaged 47.6 punches per round. In contrast, Zepeda threw 974 punches in his rematch with Tevin Farmer last March and averaged 81.17 punches per round.

The only reason Zepeda didn’t average 100 punches per round is that Farmer did a lot of holding and moving in an attempt to neutralize his offense. It only partially worked because he still threw a lot of punches and was close to knocking out Farmer on two occasions when Farmer turned his back on him, effectively surrendering. The referee could have stopped the fight on both occasions but chose not to.