Teofimo Lopez says he wants to see WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson put his punches together, throwing more than one at a time next month in his defense against volume puncher William Zepeda on July 12th in Queens, New York.
Lopez believes that Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) will struggle if he tries to beat Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) by throwing potshots, which is the typical style of fighting that he’s used his entire pro and amateur career. That approach won’t be practical against the relentless Zepeda, who can throw over 100 punches per round with power.
Zepeda’s Gatling Gun Offense
William Zepeda’s offense is like a 19th-century multi-barreled, rapid-firing, hand-cranked Gatling gun, and he doesn’t stop throwing. Shakur’s pop gun style of throwing punches would be no match for Zepeda’s higher rate of fire offense.
Stevenson’s defense is designed to avoid headshots. He’s excellent and leaning or pulling back to avoid getting hit to the head. However, Zepeda focuses on throwing to the body, and that’s an area Stevenson can’t protect if he’s going to follow Teofimo’s advice of throwing combinations.
Lopez’s 50/50 Shakur View
“Shakur [Stevenson] knows how to box fighters like that [William Zepeda]. I’m hoping to see Shakur throw more combinations. If not, it could be a 50/50 fight,” said Teofimo Lopez to The Ring, giving his thoughts on next month’s fight between WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda in Queens, New York.
It’s asking a lot of Stevenson to stand in the pocket to throw combinations against William Zepeda, because he is not the type of fighter who “knows how to box.” Teofimo is way off with that comment.
Stevenson has never fought a high-volume puncher during his pro career. The last time he fought a fighter with a high-volume offense was in the 2016 Olympics against Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez. He lost that fight because he couldn’t match Robeisy’s combination punching. Stevenson was left crying without tears afterward, unable to fully grasp why he’d lost. Now, we’re about to see the same thing happen next month when Shakur faces Zepeda.
Shakur’s Glass Hands Concerns
Teofimo failed to mention Shakur’s glass hands. He doesn’t have healthy enough hands to throw the combination punching that he needs to hold off the machine-like Zepeda. Shakur’s hands are too brittle for combat and will fall apart if he’s forced to stand in the pocket and match Zepeda’s ridiculously high output.
Shakur threw combinations in his fight last February against replacement opponent Josh Padley. However, that was a weak British domestic-level fighter that Stevenson’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, dug up at the last minute as a substitute when his original opponent, Floyd Schofield, withdrew from the fight.
Padley had no power or any offensive ability. He was just some random guy that Hearn chose over the more dangerous option, Cuban knockout artist Jadier Herrera (17-0, 16 KOs), who would have been a nightmare for Shakur. It was a wise decision by Hearn.
Shakur might have lost to Jadier, and that would have ended his quest to get the mega-money fight he’s been working toward against Gervonta Davis.