Shakur Stevenson says he’s “the show” for the July 12th event in his co-feature fight against William Zepeda at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. He states that he’s “The one everybody wants to see” for that card.
Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) is on the undercard, defending his WBC lightweight title against Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) in what many fans see as one that could involve a lot of moving and holding by Stevenson.
Shakur Stevenson: “The Show” Claim
“I think I’m the show. I think I’m the one everybody wants to see. The fans have been waiting for me to fight someone on a high skill level. He’s not scared. He’s going to come in there and give it his all,” said Shakur Stevenson to the Ring Magazine channel about his fight against William Zepeda on July 12th.
The reality is that Shakur is one of the LEAST entertaining fighters on the July 12th card in Queens, New York. That’s why he’s fighting on the undercard—too many boring performances in a row. The exciting fighters on Turki Alalshikh’s card for that event are these talents:
Exciting Fighters: Queens Card
– Edgar Berlanga
– Hamzah Sheeraz
– David Morrell
– Imam Khataev
– Subriel Matias
– Alberto Puello
There are a lot of big punchers on this card, and that includes William Zepeda. These are the must-watch fighters on July 12th. Hopefully, Shakur keeps in mind what Turki Alalshikh said about not wanting a “Tom and Jerry” fight.
“That’s just going to create more opportunities for belt to a**. It can be [a knockout]. But I am telling you, don’t be surprised. You can’t fight a guy like that moving all around the ring the entire time. You will end up losing,” said Shakur on the Zepeda.
Stevenson’s Offensive Skill Issues
Stevenson is saying stuff that he doesn’t have the offensive skills to back up. He’s got no power or the punch output to put “belt to a** against Zepeda. If anyone is going to take a belt to the backside in that fight, it’s Zepeda, as his talent on the offensive side of the game is light years ahead of Shakur’s.
The only thing Shakur does well is move and defend. His game is 10-90 in terms of offense and defense. He’s the classic definition of a one-dimensional fighter, and that’s why he lost in the 2016 Olympics. Stevenson hasn’t fought anyone good since turning pro. He’s captured three division world titles by beating these fighters:
- Joet Gonzalez: 126
- Jamel Herring: 130
- Edwin De Los Santos: 135
Those are NOT great fighters that Shakur beat to become a three-division world champion. He’s just another example of how easy it is for fighters to win titles nowadays in this era when they’ve got clever promoters that strategically match them.
Stevenson Booed: Fan Reaction
Look what happened with Shakur’s fight against the last quality opponent he fought, Edwin De Los Santos, in 2023. Stevenson ran all around the ring for 12 rounds, and the judges gave him a unanimous decision. It was a questionable decision, but Shakur showed that he can win by moving nonstop.
Interestingly, he has faced only scrubs since then, which suggests that his promoters didn’t want a repeat of him being booed out of a venue, as he was in the De Los Santos fight. I’ve never heard a fighter booed from round four until they left the ring. The T-Mobile Arena crowd was even booing Shakur as he walked to his dressing room after the fight.
