Turki Alalshikh wants a “great performance” out of Shakur Stevenson in his fight against William Zepeda on July 12th at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. He wants to continue using Stevenson for other events.
Zepeda’s Pressure Test
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) might not be worth using again after Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) gets through with him. Shakur hasn’t fought a pressure fighter like this since his loss to Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez in the 2016 Olympics, and he fell apart in that fight.
The pressure that the two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy put on Shakur is nothing compared to what Zepeda will be doing. If Shakur loses badly, like I expect him to, Turki could use him on his cards still if he’s willing to move back down to 130 or 126, because he’s not physically designed for the 135-lb division.
He lacks the power and courage to stand and fight toe-to-toe against the killers at lightqeight. There’s a reason why Shakur’s promoters matched him against weak-punching Josh Padley and Artem Harutyunyan in his last two fights.
It’s essential that Shakur looks good in winning. He can’t jab, move, and hold all night long like he did against Edwin De Los Santos in 2023. He’s going to be booed out of the Stadium. You can only imagine the criticism Shakur will receive. He’d be like a pariah afterward, a total outcast.
Turki’s Shakur Expectation
“I want a great performance from Shakur because I will try to do more big fights for him,” said Turki Alalshikh to Ring Magazine’s X about his high expectations for Shakur Stevenson for his July 12th title defense against William Zepeda.
Turki is asking for the impossible to want a “great performance” from Stevenson, because he’s not going to do anything more than what we’ve seen from him in the past. He’s going to make it a track meet, and he’ll have his glass hands as his excuse for why he couldn’t stand in the pocket against Zepeda.
“Zepeda, I want to see him in the future with [Isaac] ‘Pitbull’ [Cruz]. Berlanga, he’ll have another chance. Sheeraz, this is his third Riyadh Season. He’s seeing the potential now, and let’s see from him.”
Shakur Rematch Demands
If Zepeda is victorious against Shakur, he’ll hold the WBC lightweight title. A title defense against Isaac Cruz would be an excellent idea. However, Shakur is going to bellyache about wanting a rematch, and he won’t stop yapping until he gets his way. He’s going to push his promoter, Eddie Hearn, to get the immediate rematch with Zepeda, because he’ll be mentally devastated from a defeat.
You can only imagine the number of posts on Twitter Shakur will make daily, muddying the water and concocting some wacky, harebrained conspiracy to explain away his defeat.
Sheeraz-Berlanga War Prediction
“I’m looking forward to all four of them, but to size up the one where I think it’s going to be bombs away is Sheeraz and Berlanga,” said Rick Reeno. “I just have a feeling that Berlanga is going to come out in the first round looking for a knockout, and Sheeraz is going to embrace that. And we could see a toe-to-toe fight from the very first round.”
It would be a bad idea for Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) to get in the trenches with Edgar Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) early on in this fight. Berlanga is a huge puncher and is lethal in the early rounds, which is where he’s scored most of his knockouts during his career.
Sheeraz’s trainer, Andy Lee, will put together a game plan that involves boxing, aiming to take Berlanga into the later rounds. If Hamzah can survive until the ninth round, he’s got a chance of knocking Edgar out if he pours it on.
Hamzah’s Early Round Risk
What’s worrisome is how Austin Williams hurt Sheeraz in the first round of their fight last year in June. Austin is not nearly the puncher that Berlanga is, and he had Hamzah close to being stopped.
Last Updated on 06/23/2025
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