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Hearn confidently shortbread hands of Shakura endures the relentless pressure of Zepeda

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11 months ago

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Image: Why Shakur Stevenson's Defensive Style May Fail Against Aggressive William Zepeda

Promoter Eddie Hearn is not worried if the breakable hands of the WBC Shakur Stevenson master will keep the pressure without a break, which exerts the relentless Tom William Zepeda on him on July 12 at Queens, Recent York.

The challenge of Shakura Stevenson’s “shortbread”

Hearn believes that Stevenson (23-0, 11 KO) will fight by pain if his glass hands crash against Zepeda (33-0, 27 KO) and still hits him until he scores.

Shakur knocked out only two warriors from moving to 135, Josh Padley and Shuichiro Yoshino. These warriors resembled a lower level fighters. It is understandable why Stevenson’s promoters chose them on unsafe pretenders.

“Because of the style, I think he will land at William Zepeda. He had a check and his hands are fine. But in a fight in which you land a lot of power against an aggressive warrior, [hand injury problems can occur]- said Eddie Hearn Ring magazine About the possibility that Shakura Stevenson’s breakable hands fall apart against William Zezedie.

What does Hearn talk about? Shakur will not “land many blows” on Zepeda, because it would mean that it would have to be in his pocket. Physically, he can’t do it in relation to the volume, such as Zepeda, which will break him on the body.

Nonstop Zepeda pressure on Shakur

Even if Shakura’s glass hands remain together, they will be worn by carefree shots from Zepa, especially to the head and body. He stopped harder fighters than Stevenson, and he will do the same if he tries to land many blows during the fight.

What we will see in this fight is Shakur running, landing here and then, but will remain in motion while fans win him from the Loius Armstrong stadium. I will be here to say “I told you that.” It is too tardy to change his combat style.

If Stevenson changed his approach to the fight, becoming pocket money, he would do it until now when he was thrown out of the T-Mobile arena in the fight against de los Santos. He had perfect opponents to experiment with the recent style in his last two duels against Lightweight Hitters Padley and Harutyunyan. These guys did not have pop in their blows and we were well overtaken before we were chosen as Stevenson’s opponents.

Alalshikha Directive: No “Tom and Jerry”

Shakur was a runner from his amateur days and cannot change his basic nature to become a pocket warrior. I predict that he will ignore the Turk’s directive Alalshikha regarding the fighting of “Tom and Jerry”, shows the rebellion of this principle, moving all the time, making Zepeda chas him like a cat chasing the mouse and try to win the decision in the fight for amateur.

Hearn predicts that Stevenson will fight by pain

“I’m sure his hands will be tossed [injured] In this fight. One thing you can’t do is show any signs. You just have to find the way. We don’t consider it a problem. In Shakura’s mind it is necessary in any way, whatever you need. Will land a lot of skin on Zepeda. He can force this detention to a fantastic warrior – said Hearn.

Stevenson vs. Zepeda: Low exit?

We will see a low way to hundreds for Shakur against Zepeda. What we saw from William Scull against Canelo Alvarez in May will be similar to how Stevenson will work against Zepeda.

Turk’s mistake was placing Stevenson-Zepeda in the coefficient nest. A better fight is a match between delicate knockout artists, David Morrell and Imam Khataev. This is by far the best fight on the whole card, including the main event.

Last updated 18.06.2025

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Boxing

Canelo Alvarez makes his feelings clear after Verhoeven’s controversial 11th round stoppage against Usyk

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1 hour ago

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May 24, 2026

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Canelo Alvarez makes feelings clear on controversial Verhoeven stoppage against Usyk in 11th round

Canelo Alvarez commented on the controversial break between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven.

The boxing world was buzzing with their reaction Usyk successfully defended his heavyweight crown against Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

However, for a long time it seemed that this would not be an effective defense, and the final came in the 11th round when referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight, which many viewers prematurely believed.

Verhoeven performed well above expectations, causing Usyk numerous problems throughout the fight, but although he recovered from the knockdown, the kickboxing star was stopped on his feet and denied the chance to advance to the 12th round.

Tony Bellew believes Verhoeven should be given a chance to continue his career, but Mexican superstar Canelo does not share the same view.

I talk to professional boxing fansCanelo revealed that he agreed with the judge’s decision.

“It was a good fight, I don’t think so [that it was was an early stoppage]I think they saved a brutal knockout.”

Usyk is expected to take some time before deciding on his next move, with some fans calling for an immediate rematch with Verhoeven while others want him to face mandatory WBC title challenger Agit Kabayel now.

As for Canelo, he will return to action in September and will look to reclaim his world titles when he fights WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

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Prince Naseem Hamed’s biopic “Giant” hits the United States on May 22

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3 hours ago

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May 23, 2026

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a biopic chronicling the career of former featherweight champion Prince Naseem Hamed will be released in select U.S. theaters and on VOD on May 22. The film stars Amir El-Masry as Hamed and Pierce Brosnan as his longtime trainer Brendan Ingle, with Sylvester Stallone among the executive producers.

Directed and written by Rowan Athale, it premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2025 and was released in the UK and Ireland on January 9, 2026, before arriving in the Middle East via the Red Sea Film Festival. Vertical holds U.S. distribution rights, and the film was financed by AGC Studios and BondIt Media Capital.

What the movie covers

The plot follows Hamed’s rise from Sheffield, England, to a world title under Ingle, an Irish-born steelworker who ran a boxing gym in a church hall. According to the official description, the film also addresses the racism and Islamophobia that Hamed faced in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, and also focuses on his relationship with Ingle, who died in 2018.

Collider published an exclusive clip from the film on May 21 featuring Hamed’s 1994 fight against Vincenzo Belcastro. In this fight, Hamed won the European bantamweight title in 12 rounds, which was only his 12th professional contest, which was the beginning of his later career.

The warrior behind the film

Hamed, a southpaw of Yemeni heritage, finished his professional career with a 36-1 record and 31 knockouts while holding featherweight titles in multiple sanctioning bodies throughout the 1990s. Now 51, he was known for his unconventional style, pre-fight showmanship and ring walks that often ended with a fall over the top rope. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Following Ingle’s death, Hamed directly attributed his success to his coach Ring that without him he wouldn’t have achieved what he did in sports.

The supporting cast included Toby Stephens as promoter Frank Warren and Katherine Dow Blyton as Alma Ingle. The film lasts 110 minutes.

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Rico Verhoeven reacts to the loss of Oleksandr Usyk

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5 hours ago

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May 23, 2026

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Image: Rico Verhoeven Reacts To Usyk Loss: “I’m Here To Stay”

Rico Verhoeven insists he has proven he belongs in boxing despite an 11th-round loss to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in Egypt.

The former kickboxing champion pushed Usyk much harder than many expected before the referee stepped in tardy in the fight. At the time of the stoppage, two judges had the fight even at 95-95, with the third having Verhoeven ahead 96-94.


“Yeah, it sucks. I felt like I was so close to shocking the world,” Rico Verhoeven told DAZN Boxing after the fight.

“I want to stay here. I think I showed the world that I can definitely box. Even as a kickboxer they told me, ‘Who is this guy? He can’t do anything. It’ll be four or five rounds,’ but I think after four or five rounds we were pretty even in terms of results.”

“So I think it was a crazy, crazy performance. I felt like I was so close to winning, but it is what it is.”

Verhoeven entered the fight as the main underdog against the undefeated unified heavyweight champion, but his physical pressure, size and willingness to trade caused Usyk to struggle during several early and middle rounds.

The performance immediately changed the discussion about Verhoeven’s future in boxing.

Rather than treat the fight as a one-off, the Dutch heavyweight later made it clear that he planned to continue boxing despite the defeat. His comments also reflected the fierceness of the fight before Usyk finally took control in the championship rounds and forced a stoppage.

For much of the fight, Verhoeven looked much more comfortable than many expected against one of boxing’s greatest champions.

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Last updated: 23/05/2026 at 20:20

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