Coach Greg Hackett says that William Zepeda “brings out the best” in the featherlight master of WBC Shakur Stevenson on July 12, when they meet in the fight at Queens in Recent York.
Zepeda (33-0, 27 KO) is a guy that Stevenson (23-0, 11 KO) wanted for some time, and finally has his wish. It is believed that Zepeda is someone he can easily choose, school and impressively win to fight Gervont Davis.
This fight can be a pure nightmare for Stevenson, where he was beaten by Zepeda, forced to escape and booed from the Louis Armstrong stadium in Queens.
The sensitive goal of Stevenson’s body
“Shakur said that because Zepeda has no pressure. Compared to Shakur Steveson, Zepeda has nothing but pressure and will have to bring a lot,” said coach Greg Hackett to this Sports media YSM After saying that Shakur Stevenson said that William Zepeda would see the best version of herself on July 12 in Queens.
Of course, Zepeda will bring more pressure than he showed in his last two fights with Tevin Farmer, because this applies to the featherlight title of WBC and knows that Shakur has shortbread. He also has power. There is no movement that Shakur can do, which will stop Zeda from reaching him and carrying him with body shots. Movers do not like to hit the body because he takes their legs, making them rubber and they are forced to stand.
“Shakur knows that he will have to be challenging all night, and Zepeda knows that he will have to be aggressive all night. That’s why Shakur says that you will see the best Shakur Stevenson, and he will have to bring the best. This is another box of boxing for Shakur. Everything you have to do is to do more. This is all.”
It will be intriguing to see what the “best Shakur” is on July 12, because he has not looked in any of his fights since moving to the featherlight division in 2023. The only two fights in which he looked a bit impressive were against Josh Padley and Shuichiro Yoshino. It was two ponderous, tender guys.
“You don’t have to go there and do not make a knockout. You don’t have to go out and move all night. You just have to be busy. Feel the need to issue a program because people criticize you? No, you don’t have to feel like that,” Hackett said about Shakur. “But feel the need to be great because you fight another warrior who will come there and give you everything he has. Yes, it’s fair.”
Stevenson cannot knock out Zepeda, because it would mean that he would have to stand and be ready to get involved. He won’t do it. Zepeda will overwhelm Shakur with volume and stop him to the body if he tries to get a knockout. Stevenson can only hit, run and hold all night as always. He has him Three -stage rotary movement that he uses from his amateur days. That is why he lost at the 2016 Olympic Games. He was too busy pulling Robeisa Ramirez and without throwing blows as you should in the Olympic finals.
Shakur’s A-Game: running
“I believe that we will also see the best Zeda. It will force Shakur to play his game and all the way, because you will have to,” Hackett said. “His level of concentration is already high. That night we will see elite. He is one of the most focused fighters in the ring. Liquid decision 8-4, 7-5, Shakur.”
Hackett’s mention of the “concentration level” of Shakur, which is the code: “It will be ready to start like a rocket” to avoid Zepeda’s pressure. We have already seen Shakur reacting against Punchers in his fights with Edwin de los Santos and Jeremiah Nakathlia. He is not involved and does not stay on the run, avoiding contact, and he is trying to tighten a petite handful of shots.
What is Shakur game? Even in his last fight with an electrician, Josh Padley, he looked indigent. In his clash with Arty Harutyunyan, his fans of his hometown in Newark, Recent Jersey, they were going to go to the eighth round because he was running away from a featherlight blow.
“From five to eighth,” said Hackett, asked where there are places where Shakur may be in trouble. This is a turning point where you must start receiving it. Zepeda can be quite good around these rounds, but the last four, 9, 10, 11, 12, Shakur. In this way you finish the fight. You have the last impression that you always have the best impression, “said Hackett.
Stevenson may look worse in the rounds of the championships from 9-12 against Zepeda, because it will be under fire and pressure without interruption. Shakura’s defensive game focuses on his opponents Miss Headshots. He is susceptible to the body and always. In this way, Ramirez Ramirez from Kuba improved him at the 2016 Olympic Games. He became interested in Shakur’s body and used his reluctance to commit.
Forthright opinion: I think Shakur Stevenson stops William Zepeda in the 9th or 10th round. #GHB
“No, different styles” Hackett said, asked if the two fights of Zepeda from Tevin Farmer helped him prepare for Shakur. “Sometimes he was able to get to Tevin, not all the time, a little easier than he would be able to get to Shakur. That’s why I say” no “. These are different body frames and everything. It will be completely different. “
Zepeda received much more preparations for Shakura’s style in his two fights with the farmer than Stevenson, who had the last two clashes with Josh Padley and Artem Harutynaan. These two Airy Hitra were complete opposites of the fight of Zepeda. They were useless as preparations for Stevenson to prepare for the style of the Mexican row.
The fight may be unsuccessful
Shakur runs much more than a farmer, there is a lack of power and he does everything in his power to avoid hit. In other words, he will remain in motion to avoid heat from Zepeda. Like a farmer, Shakur moves, but much more so that it will be impossible to do. He can’t lend a hand it. The chin is tender and is not built for war.
“Tevin is cunning, but not as clever as it used to be. I am talking about being slippery. He is still there, and this appearance of Southpaw could lend a hand a bit to Southpaw. But the way they build them and the way they move is completely different.” Hackett said.
The farmer used as many movements as possible and hold to stop Zepeda in both fights. If more moved, crowds would boo him. He was on the highest limit of how much he stayed with Zeda without receiving Shakur treatment from fans in the ring.
Stevenson is not brave, tough, immense or powerful enough to fight what the farmer is too frail. Zepeda will destroy him because he has no strength or resistance to the fight against the Mexican indolent just like Tevin.
Top trainer and former world champion Robert Garcia has considered the outcome of a fantasy showdown between Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao.
The two generational greats reportedly came close to squaring off in 2021, back when Crawford was the WBO welterweight champion and ‘Pac Man’ held the WBA title.
Their unification match never materialised, though, as Pacquiao was scheduled to face Errol Spence Jr before ‘The Truth’ pulled out with a torn retina.
Instead, the Filipino legend ended up losing his WBA title to Yordenis Ugas at a stage when, while still serviceable, he was quite clearly past his best.
Crawford, meanwhile, was hitting top form around this time, just a few fights away from producing arguably a career-best performance against Spence.
He did, of course, manage to stop his welterweight rival in nine rounds, before moving up to 168lbs and becoming a three-division undisputed champion by dethroning Canelo Alvarez last September.
Based on those two performances, coach Garcia has told ESNEWS that he would favour ‘Bud’ to defeat even a prime version of Pacquiao.
“The Crawford that beat Spence – and the Crawford that beat Canelo – would probably beat Manny.”
While Crawford’s prime almost certainly came during his run of eight stoppages at welterweight, it is harder to pinpoint when Pacquiao ultimately reached his peak.
In terms of his most destructive performance at world level, however, many will point towards his second-round finish over Ricky Hatton in 2009.
While facing the ‘Hitman’ at 140lbs, Pacquiao would cement himself as a formidable welterweight champion soon after, dethroning Miguel Cotto with a 12th-round stoppage for the WBO title.
Former world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk has been left between a rock and a hard place afterhis promotional contract with Zuffa Boxing has been terminated.
The Ukrainian dethroned long-reigning light-heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson in 2018, scoring an 11th-round stoppage that left his opponent with a brain injury.
Gvozdyk then made a WBC title defence before losing to Artur Beterbievwho extended his ruthless surge with a 10th-round finish in their 2019 encounter.
Since that defeat, ‘The Nail’ suffered a unanimous decision loss to David Benavidez in 2024, before entering a perceived 50/50 contest against Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic in February.
With both making their Zuffa debut, the two veterans delivered a thrilling battle in which Gvozdyk scored two knockdowns and had built a sizable lead.
In round seven, though, the 39-year-old found himself on the canvas and was ultimately stopped on his feet after getting dropped a second time.
Given his overall performance, one would suspect he had done enough to justify another meaningful opportunity, yet Gvozdyk has since told vRINGe that he will no longer be fighting under the Zuffa banner.
“They terminated the contract in February after a loss. That is, every promoter has the option that if a boxer loses, they have the right to terminate the contract. That’s exactly what they did. After the fight, everyone was saying how great it was. That everything was great. I rested. I started preparing as planned – somewhere around May. And then, around April, they told me I’d received an email terminating the contract.”
This is because his contract has been terminated, while Kalajdzic’s next outing with Dana White’s promotional outfit is confirmed for September 26 against Craig Richards.
As for Gvozdyk, it is difficult to predict what will come next but, at the age of 39, one would suspect that he is close to hanging up the gloves.
Still, he could hardly have been happy to part ways with Zuffa, which also terminated its contract with Robert Meriwether following his defeat to Tony Hirsch Jr in April.
Former British champion and Olympic bronze medallist David Price has assessed whether his countryman, Conor Bennpossesses the necessary hand speed to defeat Ryan Garcia.
The two welterweights will square off at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world title.
It was arguably a career-best performance that saw him dethrone Mario Barrios in February, scoring a first-round knockdown before winning a wide unanimous decision.
But despite coming off this dominant display, Garcia was far less impressive when he returned from a year-long doping ban and lost on points to Rolando Romero in May 2025.
Still, many would argue that the 28-year-old has shown signs of world-class quality, while Benn remains glaringly unproven at the top level.
The 29-year-old has also not fought at 147lbs since 2022, with his last two outings resulting in unanimous decision victories over faded versions of Chris Eubank Jr and Regis Prograis.
Against Eubank, in particular, Benn’s speed seemed a key factor in their two middleweight encounters last year, despite him suffering a points defeat the first time around.
As he approaches this welterweight contest against Garcia, though, former heavyweight contender Price has told The Smith Brothers that he sees Benn contending with an unfamiliar disadvantage.
“I think I [favour Garcia]. Conor Benn’s got great hand speed, but I think [Garcia’s] hand speed could make the difference in the fight.”
Like Garcia, Benn tested positive for a banned substance – clomifene – and was eventually removed from his cancelled 2022 encounter with Eubank.
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