Golden Boy Still Hopes to Explore Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda
Jun 9, 2024 • 2:48 AM ET
William Zepeda is set to meet Giovanni Cabrera next month, in what Golden Boy president Eric Gomez admits could be a hard test.
Zepeda swamped Maxi Hughes last time out, in April, stopping the overwhelmed Englishman in four rounds.
On July 6, at the Toyota Center in Ontario, California, Zepeda will go again and is aiming to send another statement out to the lightweight division.
Mexico’s Zepeda is a 5-foot-9 southpaw who is now 30-0 (26 KOs). Cabrera is 22-1 (7 KOs) and gave Isaac Cruz, the WBA 140-pound titleholder, a tough night over 12 rounds in his only defeat.
“He’s tough – he’s a tough kid,” Gomez said of Cabrera. “A little unorthodox, tough kid, very good record. Look, he gave Cruz a lot of fits. It was a split decision, it was tight, it was a close fight, so it’s a dangerous fight for Zepeda. But that’s what Zepeda wants.
“He wants fights that matter. He wants good fights. He’s marching his way towards a world title. Beating a guy like Cabrera is going to be a great notch for him and his career.”
There had been high hopes that Zepeda could be paired with Shakur Stevenson this year, and Gomez said that fight could still happen. Top Rank said the talks did not go far.
WBC champion Stevenson, however, closes out his existing deal on the same night, July 6, at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center against Arten Harutyunyan.
“We agreed we could talk again later this year, but that’s one of the fights we want to explore,” said Gomez.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
