Unbeaten world champion Shakur Stevenson is set to take on William Zepeda on July 12th, as he aims to make the third defense of his lightweight title.
Aiming to build on his TKO win over short-notice opponent Josh Padley, Stevenson takes on Zepeda, who has earned 27 of his 33 wins via knockout.
Zepeda goes into the bout after a brace of wins over Tevin Farmer, who was recently knocked out in the first round by Floyd Schofield.
Ahead of their fight, Stevenson has made a bold claim in relation to the Mexican fighter.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty ImagesShakur Stevenson says he has more knockout power than William Zepeda
Stevenson goes into his title defense with 11 of his 23 wins coming by way of knockout. Among these victories, Stevenson has stopped Shuichiro Yoshino and Jamel Herring.
However, Zepeda has an 82% knockout rate, compared to Stevenson’s 48%. This means that the statistics imply that Zepeda is more of a finisher than the American champion.
Despite the numbers, Stevenson claims that he is the more powerful puncher between the two. Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Stevenson said, “I punch harder than him, and I think on fight night, that’s going to be the biggest difference.”
When asked if Stevenson felt any ‘pressure’ for a big performance against Zepeda, the champion said that he did not. “If you feel like there’s pressure, you’re going to feel it and you’re going to act like it.”
Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda to compete on stacked event in New York
Stevenson vs Zepeda will be one of two world title fights when the pair compete at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.
Also fighting for a world title will be Alberto Puello (24-0) and Subriel Matias (22-2). The pair will compete for the WBC World Super Lightweight title, as Puello aims to make his second defense.
In the co-headline bout, Edgar Berlanga (23-1) will take on unbeaten Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1) in a super middleweight bout.
Former light heavyweight world title challenger and David Benavidez opponent David Morrell (11-1) will also return to action, as he faces Imam Khataev (10-0).