Notebook: Shakur: 'If you call me Jerry then I’m whupping Tom’s ass'
135 titlist says he'll dominate Zepeda; injured Cacace out vs. Ford; Berlanga interview; Figueroa-Gonzalez upgrade; Quick hits; Show & tell
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WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson has already accomplished so much: 2016 Olympic silver medalist; world titles in three divisions from featherweight to lightweight; unified at two belts at junior lightweight; and is renowned as one of boxing’s most brilliant defensive fighters.
Still, despite the enormous talent, he has received often withering criticism from fans and media because of his sometimes less-than-exciting style.
It was that style that was partly to blame for such extraordinarily boring bouts against Edwin De Los Santos, when he won the vacant 135-pound belt in November 2023, and Artem Harutyunyan in his first defense last July during that sent droves of fans to the exits before the fights had ended, including the Harutyunyan bout that took place in Stevenson’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
Stevenson did score a ninth-round knockout against late replacement Josh Padley in his second defense in February but those other bouts still remain a talking point among his critics.
Even Turki Alalshikh, who bankrolled the Paldey fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is putting on Stevenson’s third defense, has issued veiled criticism.
Stevenson will face interim titlist and mandatory challenger William Zepeda, known for his all gas, no brakes brawling style, in the co-feature of Alalshikh’s Ring magazine card on Saturday (5 p.m. ET, DAZN PPV, $59.99) at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
After spending millions on recent high-profile fights involving Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez, Alalshikh has made it clear he wants more for his money. He has recently spoken of his disdain for what he calls “Tom and Jerry fights,” meaning — in a nod to the famed cartoon — when one boxer “is running around the ring and another fighter is chasing him.” It was clear that among others, he was talking about Stevenson.
In fact, according the Alalshikh-owned Ring magazine, he attempted to utilize a 20-by-18 foot ring — which is permitted — for Saturday’s card before there was enough negative feedback from the fighters and their teams that the ring will instead be a more typical 24-by-20, thereby giving the combatants more room to maneuver than in a smaller ring.
