Shakur Stevenson received some news today: the WBC ordered a fight between him and his #1 ranked contender, William Zepeda.
De La Hoya’s Cryptic Tweet
The news quickly turned sour when Zepeda’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, posted on Twitter, “Check this out: William Zepeda is so bad, nobody will tell him who he must fight next.”
There’s no other way of looking at that remark by De La Hoya but to see it as a duck on his part because if he wanted a guaranteed title shot for Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), he would have been overjoyed that the WBC was ordering it.
De La Hoya wants Zepeda to face WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk, and he has the #1 ranking with that organization to make it happen next, provided the World Boxing Organization orders it. Top Rank promotes Berinchyk, and they’re interested in having their fighter, #3 WBO Keyshawn Davis, challenged for the title.
Stevenson’s Disappointment and Uncertainty
Shakur reacted to De La Hoya’s comment with a crying emoji in X, showing his unhappiness. He said, “Nobody talking about these dudes ducking in broad daylight.”
With Zepeda off the table for Shakur’s next fight, it’s unclear who his next promoter will match him against. Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing has expressed interest in signing Shakur, but the guy who repeatedly said he wanted to match him against is Zepeda.
The only other name that Hearn had mentioned watching to set up a fight with for Shakur is Liam Paro, the IBF 140-lb champion. But for that fight to happen, Shakur would need to move up to light welterweight, which might mess things up for him to keep his WBC lightweight title.
If Hearn can’t get Zepeda, Shakur might need to consider signing with De La Hoya or inking with Mayweather Promotions or PBC. De La Hoya will give Shakur Zepeda if he signs with Golden Boy, but it’s unclear how many fights he would need to agree to for that to happen.
If De La Hoya uses Zepeda as leverage, he might be able to rope him into a long-term deal just off that one fight.
