Shakur Stevenson has been ordered by the WBC to face his mandatory William Zepeda.
The WBC Lightweight Champion is a free agent after successfully defending his title against Artem Harutyunyan, his final fight with Top Rank. Oscar De La Hoya, Eddie Hearn and Floyd Mayweather reached out, hoping to sign Shakur. Hearn seems the favorite, although De La Hoya remains keen.
Oscar initially stated Shakur would only fight Zepeda if he signed with Golden Boy. De La Hoya’s comments were designed to protect his stable. Hearn hit back at De La Hoya, claiming the Oscar backtracked on his comments that promoters should work together.
“He [Oscar De La Hoya] also said that he would only make the fight if he was with Golden Boy, which is a disgrace to boxing. This is from a guy who says promoters should work together and that the best should fight the best. Now, you can only get Zepeda if you’re with Golden Boy, which is bizarre. We’re [Matchroom Boxing] with the same platform [DAZN],” Hearn said
Oscar has replied by stating that no one will force Zepeda to take this fight. It appears Golden Boy wants Zepeda to box WBO Lightweight Champion Denys Berinchyk. Zepeda is also ranked number one in the WBO. A win would make the Shakur fight bigger since it would be for a unification. Stevenson has accused Oscar and Zepeda of ducking.
check this out @williamzepeda2 is so bad ass he has four sanctioning bodies to choose from. Nobody will tell him who he must fight next.
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) July 15, 2024
Shakur Stevenson reacts to Oscar De La Hoya’s comments about the William Zepeda fight being ordered by the WBC: “Ducking in broad daylight.” pic.twitter.com/NcbdOUqAFa
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) July 15, 2024
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) July 15, 2024
Reaction
Protection program ?
— T Mafianie (@TMafianie) July 15, 2024
Don’t seem like it’s Shakur who’s scared of this fight
— Raine (@TooXharpe) July 15, 2024
Sounding duckerish big dawg js 🤷🏾♂️
— ShowBizzAdult (@BizzAdult) July 15, 2024