Joe Cordina doesn’t believe Shakur Stevenson is serious about fighting welterweight Conor Benn next after his July 12th title defense against William Zepeda. Cordina says Benn hits hard, big, and would be dangerous for Shakur with eight-oz gloves.
Eddie Hearn said Benn and Shakur contacted him to make the fight happen. Hearn says he’ll do it after their next fights. Conor is expected to take a rematch with Chris Eubank Jr. in September. After that, he’s free to fight Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs).
Shakur Chasing Millions?
“No, he’s full of s***,” said Joe Cordina to Boxing News when asked about his reaction to Shakur Stevenson saying he wants to fight Conor Benn next after his July 12th clash against William Zepeda. “He’s a very good fighter, a technically good fighter, but when he gets [pressured, he runs].”
Shakur might actually be serious about fighting Conor Benn, because he wants to get a taste of the big money that he’s been missing out on during his career. He obviously heard about the millions Benn made for his recent fight against middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. on April 26th, and wants to get in on the action. It might be Stevenson’s only chance to get life-changing money. If his dream is to live among the millionaires in Ho-Ho-Kus, Saddle River, or Rumson, New Jersey, fighting Conor would be the fight to take.
“Well, we see what he’s like against other fighters when they’re throwing digs at him at his weight. He’s on his bike. I can only imagine what he’d be like if Conor Benn is with him. Obviously, he sees gaps in Conor, but Conor is a big boy. And he hits hard as well. Little eight-oz gloves. Yeah, don’t be so silly.
“A very good fight,” said Cordina about Shakur’s fight against Zepeda. “It’s either going to be an exciting fight or it’s going to be a borefest. Either or. It’s not going to be a tough & go. Yeah, if Shakur gets on his bike, it might be a borefest, but that’s boxing. He’s going to hit and not be hit.”
Boos Await Shakur?
There’s no guesswork involved. Shakur WILL run on July 12th, because for him to stand his ground the way Tevin Farmer did, it would be suicide. Stevenson isn’t as tough as Farmer and wouldn’t last four rounds fighting a puncher like Zepeda in the pocket. He should fight him because this clash is an audition for a potential mega-money fight against Gervonta Davis. Turki Alalshikhi isn’t going to want to finance the Tank-Stevenson fight if Shakur is booed out of the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens in his title defense against Zepeda.
Shakur has got to be willing to put his hide on the line by entertaining no man’s land and be willing to get shelled to his base elements by Zepeda. He could still get the Tank fight if he at least tries to battle the Mexican knockout artist. If Shakur runs and fights in his typical style, his chances of getting that fight will disappear.
“And to the purists, that’s going to be an unbelievable performance. But to the fighters that rate him pound-for-pound as one of the best fighters on the planet, it’s going to probably dampen what he’s doing. I believe he’s one of the best fighters on the planet, but no one really likes to watch him. But Zepeda comes to fight, and he might sometimes have to dig down and bite down on his gumshield and dig his toes in. But we’ll soon see,” said Cordina.
The average boxing fan will be bored out of their minds if Shakur chooses to run against Zepeda. That’s the only option Stevenson has of winning, because he’s too weak and fragile to stay in the pocket and fight. His last fight against British fighter Josh Padley may have given him ideas that he can stand his ground and battle last February.
That was a special case. Padley couldn’t punch, and it was ideal for Shakur to fight in the pocket. He can’t do that against Zepeda without getting machine-gunned into submission. Stevenson is no tougher than Zepeda’s past knockout victims, Giovanni Cabrera, Maxi Hughes, and Marcito Gesta. If those guys couldn’t handle Zepeda’s onslaught, Shakur won’t either. That’s why he’s going to have to run, and that means a whole lot of boos. This fight is in New York, so they’re not going to be polite when Stevenson starts running to escape Zepeda’s pressure.
Last Updated on 05/16/2025
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