Promoter Eddie Hearn says he wants WBC mandatory William Zepeda to be the next opponent for Shakur Stevenson if he’s victorious in his rematch with Tevin Farmer on March 29th in Cancun.
Hearn states that Zepeda (32-0, 29 KOs) was part of his original three-fight plan for Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) after he signed him, and he still wants that to happen. The original roadmap that Hearn had for Stevenson when he inked him to a contract with Mathroom was for him to take these fights in this order:
- Floyd Schofield
- William Zepeda
- Gervonta Davis
The Schofield match fell apart after he pulled with an illness last week, making it necessary for Hearn to scramble for a replacement. He chose fringe contender Josh Padley, which turned out to be a mistake on his part, as he made Stevenson look like an average fighter in a losing effort.
No Zepeda, Now What?
Hearn wants to continue with his original plan of using Zepeda as a stepping stone to get the Tank fight, but it’s unclear if that’ll happen. Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya has gone quiet about wanting to make the fight between Zepeda and Shakur. It’s understandable why.
Zepeda can make a lot more money fighting Tank Davis than facing Stevenson, who isn’t a PPV attraction, and the fight would create very little fan interest. Moreover, Shakur would run around the ring for 12 rounds like he did against Edwin De Los Santos, playing a child playground keep-away game. That’s not interesting for fighters like Zepeda, Golden Boy, or the fans.
“I don’t think you’ll see him in the ring until the back end of summer, and we still want what was promised to us in the roadmap, which is [William] Zepeda,” said Eddie Hearn to Chris Mannix’s YouTube channel about who he wants next for Shakur Stevenson.
The Padley Fiasco
Shakur’s surgically repaired left hand was severely swollen during the Padley fight, forcing him to use his right hand for most of his power punching. Although Stevenson could still use his left when throwing to the body, he could not use it to throw to the head.
“I had said I wanted Floyd Schofield, Zepeda and then Tank. If we go straight into Tank, that’s not a problem either. We would like the Zepeda fight. I think Shakur is getting better and better. People are queuing up to criticize Shakur. He had three days notice for Josh Padley,” said Hearn, making excuses for Stevenson’s lackluster performance against the electrician Padley.
Plan B Needed
Hearn needs to start thinking about using someone else for Shakur’s next opponent because it’s painfully obvious that Golden Boy has NO interest in letting him fight Zepeda. These are more realistic options for Shakur:
– Ernesto Mercado
– Andy Cruz
– Abdullah Mason
– Raymond Muratalla
– Edwin De Los Santos
“It wasn’t really an ideal situation to be in, and Padley can fight. It’s very difficult when you’ve been gearing up for a bad blood fight with Floyd Schofield, and then all of a sudden, he’s out. This guy [Padley] flies in, and you’ve never really seen him before. You watch a bunch of footage. I thought it was a good performance [from Shakur].
“He’s never broken a sweat [in his career]. He feels he’s the best fighter in the world, and he wants to try and prove it. That was always the plan,” said Hearn when asked what Golden Boy Promotions are saying about making the fight between Zepeda and Shakur Stevenson.
“Zepeda is a good fighter and if he gets through the Farmer rematch [on March 29th], why not do the fight? You only wouldn’t do the fight if you didn’t think you could win, and I get that. There’s a lot of money at stake, and he’s [Zepeda] the mandatory for the world title. So, hopefully that fight will get made,” said Hearn.
Last Updated on 02/27/2025
