Shakur Stevenson (1.11) v William Zepeda (6.50) (WBC Lightweight Championship)
4 AM Sunday SA time
It’s a classic matador versus bull battle, pitting the slick footwork, airtight defence, and elite ring IQ of Stevenson against the aggression, non-stop pressure, and volume punching of Zepeda.
To make it even more compelling, both men are unbeaten. Plus, it’s a rare all-southpaw showdown.
A perfect 23-0 with 11 knockouts, Stevenson has held world titles in three different weight classes. The American ace became the WBC lightweight champion with a decision win over Edwin De Los Santos in November 2023 and has recorded successful defences against Artem Harutyunyan (by points) and, most recently, Josh Padley (by TKO).
Mexico’s Zepeda is a flawless 33-0 with 27 knockouts and has earned his world title shot after back-to-back victories over Tevin Farmer to first win and then defend the WBC interim lightweight crown. Both bouts were close with Zepeda edging the first by split decision and the rematch by majority decision.
Stevenson is a defensive genius and arguably the best counter-puncher in the world today. His intelligence sees him outwit his opponents and forces them to fight his fight as opposed to him getting sucked into wild brawls. He’s extremely disciplined and as much as Zepeda will try to make this a dogfight, the cool, calm and collected champion will stick to his tactical strengths.
And, why wouldn’t he? He boasts the best plus-minus rating in boxing at 21.1 according to CompuBox, meaning he lands far more punches than he takes. He’s also one of the hardest fighters to hit clean with opponents’ total punches landed being 5.4, the lowest in the sport.
For the 28-year-old, it’s all about controlling the rhythm and the range at which the fight is contested. He’s mainly a patient sharpshooter who picks his shots and relies on his accuracy and timing. Even when he does throw combinations, he remains measured and, thus, rarely leaves himself exposed.
In contrast, Zepeda is all gas and no brakes. A relentless pressure fighter, “Camaron” doesn’t give an opponent a second to breathe and famously set a CompuBox record when he threw 1536 punches over 12 rounds against Joseph Diaz in 2022. He also holds the record for most jabs thrown in a round (89) and overall (787).
That incredible output points to his top-notch conditioning and also highlights that he’s a machine gun rather than a bazooka. In other words, he melts men as opposed to obliterating them with a single blow. Defensively, the 29-year-old is a work in progress as his pressure game does see him slump forward at times and his high guard will give Stevenson openings. He has a solid chin, though.
While Zepeda has a size advantage, he’s bound to struggle to find continued success against the elusive champion and doesn’t have the one-punch knockout power to catch him cold. Instead, the slick and smart Stevenson should minimise Zepeda’s effective attacks, control the range and outpoint him to retain his title and stay perfect.
Prediction: Stevenson by decision.
Best Bet: Stevenson by decision at 1.50.
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