Romero Downplays Shakur’s Win: Zepeda Lacked Power

Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero downplayed Shakur Stevenson’s victory over volume puncher William Zepeda last Saturday night in Queens, New York. The WBA welterweight champion Rolly noted that Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) “has no power,” and it wasn’t the same thing as Shakur fighting an opponent with one-punch power.

(Credit: Golden Boy)

Rolly didn’t give any examples of who WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) would have to worry about at 135. The obvious fighters would be Gervonta Davis and Floyd Schofield Jr. Those two are knockout artists who would be dangerous for Shakur. They’re not the only big punchers at lightweight. There are Abdullah Mason and Jadier Herrera, who would be risky for Stevenson to fight.

Despite not having a lot of power, Zepeda staggered Stevenson with a left hand in the third round. If Zepeda had connected with more shots to the head, he could have done a lot worse. After getting hurt, Shakur did a good job of leaning his head back to avoid or take the impact from Zepeda’s punches.

Zepeda’s Lack of Power

“It was a great performance, but the dude has no power,” said Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero to Boxing News, talking about Shakur Stevenson’s win over William Zepeda last Saturday night. “William Zepeda has one of the highest punch outputs in boxing.”

Stevenson’s wanting to fight Zepeda so badly was a clear indication that he wasn’t concerned about his punching power. That was a tell-tale sign that he saw him as a non-threat. The fighters that Shakur never mentions, Mason, Schofield, and Herrera, would be a serious threat.

Real Punchers vs. Volume

“Anyone that has to throw 100 punches a round to get you out of there, they have no power. My niece can punch me 100 times in the face, and I’ll be sleeping. Real punchers, they only need to land one or two punches, and you’re out cold. So, he just didn’t fight a puncher,” said Rolly about Shakur.

What makes Zepeda formidable is his volume and his body punching. He landed a lot of shots to the body of Shakur, but the judges didn’t factor those in their scoring. If he had a lot more power, he’d have forced Stevenson to move. However, Shakur did start moving in the ninth round after eating some hard body shots from Zepeda. You could tell that he was bothered by those punches because he was no longer willing to be stationary.

Rolly Won’t Fight Shakur

“I don’t entertain fighters like that. Not my type,” said Romero when asked if he would be open to fighting Stevenson at 147. “The second they get hit one time clean, they run around the ring.”