Shakur Stevenson says he doesn’t care about the money and wants Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya to make the fight happen with William Zepeda next. WBC lightweight champion Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) is ready to go the purse-bid route if a deal can’t be made with interim champ Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs).
It’s not looking good for the Shakur-Zepeda fight. The money that Shakur thought was coming from the Saudis has evaporated. If the purse bid is low, it won’t be surprising if Shakur vacates his WBC title.
Shakur hasn’t mentioned what his plan B is if he doesn’t fight William Zepeda next. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, won’t be happy if that fight doesn’t happen for him because he knows there won’t be any interest from fans if he uses one of his British fighters again for Shakur to fight. He went that route in Stevenson’s last title defense, using UK fighter Josh Padley. Hearn needs Zepeda to help build interest for a Tank Davis fight.
Shakur’s Demand
“You know something. F*** the money. Respect me as a man,” said Shakur Stevenson on X, letting the boxing world know that he just wants the fight with William Zepeda regardless of the money.
“Me and my team did this because we want the fight. Now stop lying and crying and make this s*** happen. Oscar DeLa Hoya [and] William Zepeda, y’all like playing dirty, right? Well, I’m down to fight, Mf.”
Shakur says he doesn’t care about money, but he obviously does because he’s been complaining about Turki backtracking on his original offer for the Zepeda fight.
Capturing the WBC title from Shakur isn’t what it cracks up to be for Zepeda. Shakur knows what’s waiting for him, so he’s pushing so hard for the Zepeda fight. He feels he can win, then bypass Andy Cruz to go straight to a unification match against Gervonta Davis.
De La Hoya hasn’t said a word since posting on social media last week that Stevenson was choosing not to go through with the fight.
Oscar may look in another direction for Zepeda, who may feel it’s not worth fighting Shakur if the money has dried up. Holding the WBC belt would put the Mexican slugger in the hot seat, needing to defend the strap against highly ranked #1 Andy Cruz. Why would Zepeda want those kinds of headaches?
Last Updated on 04/08/2025
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