William Zepeda is raring to get in the ring with Shakur Stevenson, according to Golden Boy President Eric Gomez.
Zepeda, the hell-bent for leather lightweight contender from Mexico, is coming off a resounding beatdown of Mercito Gesta, in September, at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.
The 27-year-old southpaw has seen his appeal balloon in recent years, thanks to his entertaining style. And apparently, he has now set his crosshairs on Stevenson, the skilled two-division titlist and current lightweight contender from Newark, New Jersey. Stevenson, also a southpaw, is backed by Top Rank, a rival outfit of Golden Boy.
Golden Boy’s Gomez feels Zepeda would be more than simply competitive against Stevenson, citing a historical precedent: Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s hard-fought tussles with Jose Luis Castillo and Marcos Maidana. Stevenson, known for his defense and accuracy, has often been compared to Mayweather.
“Funny enough, that’s who William Zepeda wants,” Gomez said on The 3 Knockdown Rule. “He wants Shakur Stevenson. For whatever reason, there’s something he sees that we don’t. Look, Shakur’s a young Mayweather. He really is. And he’s probably a better finisher than Mayweather. I don’t want to take anything from Mayweather, he’s a great fighter, one of the best all time, but Shakur has that kind of talent. He’s that good. I love the way he works, his ring generalship, he works his distance well.
“But for whatever reason, if you look at Mayweather’s career, who gave him problems? Castillo and Maidana. And William Zepeda, he throws more than [those guys] and he changes his height, he changes his angles. There’s something that William Zepeda sees. He tells us, ‘We want Shakur, we want Shakur.’”
Although cross-promotional fights are rare in boxing, Top Rank and Golden Boy have worked with each on occasion. Most recently, Top Rank-backed Giovani Santillan upset Golden Boy-promoted Alexis Rocha with a sixth-round stoppage on a Golden Boy card.
“He’s exciting,” Gomez said of Zepeda. “He’s a throwback guy. He knows he’s gonna get hit. He does his best to keep his hands up but he’s just so busy. There’s an old saying in boxing, the best defense is a great offense. He’s just like that.”
Stevenson is scheduled to take on Edwin De Los Santos on Nov. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.