Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya has caught a whole lot of flak from followers this week for displaying little curiosity in his younger star #1 ranked contender William Zepeda agreeing to problem WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson subsequent.
The WBC ordered Stevenson and Zepeda to start negotiations for a struggle with a handbag bid scheduled for August twentieth if they can not attain a deal. Nevertheless, De La Hoya instantly barked, saying on X, “No one will inform him who he should struggle subsequent.”
De La Hoya should know {that a} struggle between Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda received’t promote on PPV. It might be fortunate to attract 50K PPV buys. If it’s a non-PPV occasion, the networks will doubtless give each fighters sufficient cash to fulfill them for the magnitude of the struggle.
Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs), a former three-division world champion, isn’t well-known amongst informal boxing followers, and hardcore followers intensely dislike his preventing model. The 27-year-old Shakur has been labeled a “boring” fighter by followers, and which may as properly be his center identify.
Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) isn’t well-known to informal followers both as a result of he’s simply now getting consideration attributable to his current knockout wins over Giovanni Cabrera, Maxi Hughes, and Mercito Gesta. These weren’t sufficiently big wins for Zepeda to be a focus for thie boxing public.
Zepeda wants a struggle in opposition to Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis or Vasily Lomachenko for him to maneuver to the PPV stage, and people fights aren’t straightforward to come back by. Till then, Zepeda is best off ignoring Shakur identical to these guys are as a result of he has nothing to supply him.
There’s no upside for Zepeda in preventing Shakur; he could be doing him a favor by preventing him. That’s the truth of it. Being a champion on this period means nothing. What’s extra essential than holding paper titles is reputation, and Shakur doesn’t match that class and certain by no means will.
If Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn indicators Shakur, it must be for a one—or two-fight deal if he has assured opponents that he believes followers will need to see. The one ones that make sense are Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Gervonta Davis.
Hearn can’t ship Tank Davis with a 100% assure with out His Excellency. It might nonetheless be a dangerous struggle financially as a result of it may bomb badly on PPV. Shakur would by no means conform to struggle ‘Boots’ Ennis as a result of he would haven’t any probability in opposition to a slugger like him.