Shakur Stevenson has confirmed that William Zepeda will be his next one in February if he wins his fight against Tevin Farmer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
(Credit: Golden Boy/Chris Esqueda)
Zepeda faces the 34-year-old veteran farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) at Latino Night at The Venue. This is the last step for Zepeda before he challenges Shakur on February 22 in a giant card in Riyadh.
Farmer is viewed as a small speed bump for Zepeda on his way to world glory, and he likely won’t last more than three or four rounds at best. That is if Farmer runs.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) could end his brief reign as the belt holder when he faces Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs). You can tell from the way Shakur constantly brings up No. 1 seed Zepeda that he’s worried, and for good reason.
Zepeda = Shakur’s nightmare era
This guy could ruin his and promoter Eddie Hearn’s dreams in a huge fight against Gervonta Davis in 2025. Hearn signed Shakur with the idea of him getting a huge money fight against Tank, but if Zepeda picks him, his short fight will be a two-fight. The contract with Matchroom Boxing will not be extended.
Zepeda’s high-volume jab wanders all over Shakur, peppering him with shots and forcing him to move more than he ever did during his seven-year pro career, starting in 2017 after being dominated by Cuban Rubesi Ramirez in the 2016 Olympics.
This loss resulted from Shakur’s failure to stand up and fight, as he was on his bike for the entire three rounds that Al-Rubaisi chased. We’ll likely see the same thing when he faces Shakur Zepeda, who is better at cutting the hoop against his prey than Robizzi.
We hope that Shakur will not cry without tears after that, as he did after his loss to Roubisi. That was very strange. When do you see something like this?
Hearn seems like a nice guy, but he’s incredibly naive when judging the ability of integrity-first fighters like Shakur, who doesn’t belong among the best 135-year-old fighters and shouldn’t hold a world title belt after his questionable win over Edwin D. Los Santos last year on November 16. Shakur didn’t deserve to win that fight because he ran for the entire 12 rounds and only landed attacking shots.
There would be no point in Hearn keeping a safety-first fighter like Shakur in his prestigious company because he is focused on getting the best. Shakur won’t live up to those standards if Zepeda crushes him on February 22. Hearn wants to keep his team lean, mean and full of the best fighters. Shakur would be useless ballast for his Matchroom company if he was blown out of the water by Zepeda.
The farmer hopes to thwart Zepeda’s plans
“He’s definitely one of the best in the 135-pound division. If I had to do a rating, I’d say top five,” Tevin Farmer told iFL TV when asked about his opponent, William Zepeda, on Saturday. “It wouldn’t be “Annoying to true boxing fans, no, but to ordinary boxers, yes.”
“I’m the guy who spoils all parties. I don’t have a lot of wear and tear on my body. I’m here to spoil the party and represent my country.”
It seems that Farmer still does not understand what his role in the Battle of Zepeda is. The farmer is the sacrificial lamb, brought in strictly for display purposes to make Zepeda look like the equivalent of the prized $350 million Hope Diamond. The wily farmer has a style that borders on Shakur’s, and Zepeda will be masking that style for the entire civilized world on Saturday night.
What will be interesting is if Shakur loses his temper and chooses not to defend against Zepeda after seeing what he does to the farmer. This is a fight Shakur doesn’t have to take because Zepeda is not his mandatory challenger. Therefore, he could follow Hearn’s original plan to defend against Joe Cordina next and then face WBA champion Tank Davis in a unification.
Yes 🦾 https://t.co/Zbx6W5hBcR
-Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 14, 2024
