Oscar De La Hoya can take comfort in knowing that William Zepeda has a better shot at defeating Shakur Stevenson than Edgar Berlanga does of meeting his demand to produce a Puerto Rican passport.
Unfortunately for the Hall of Fame promoter, there’s no such thing as a Puerto Rican passport, which means his fighter still must defy the odds.
Mexico’s Zepeda, 33-0 (27 KOs), has vowed to do just that ahead of his title consolidation clash with Shakur Stevenson, 23-0 (11 KOs) of Newark, New Jersey. The two meet this Saturday in the co-main event of the Ring III show from Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.
Stevenson risks his WBC lightweight title against Zepeda, who enters as the interim titleholder and mandatory challenger.
“I am very committed to this fight. I know how talented my opponent is, I’ve always acknowledged that,” Zepeda said of Stevenson. “But I am on a bigger mission than to just win. I want to go down in boxing history and write the name of William Zepeda in gold."
The matchup is a classic battle – on paper – between one of the sport’s best pure boxers versus its busiest volume puncher.
Zepeda represents the latter, as he averages just under 94 punches thrown per round over his last 16 fights recorded by Compubox. The same measurement ranks Stevenson as the most difficult to hit clean, as opponents land the fewest punches per round when facing the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and unbeaten three-division titlist.
Most independent ratings boards have Stevenson and Zepeda among its top three lightweights, generally right behind WBA lightweight titlist Gervonta Davis, 30-0 (28 KOs). The positioning would normally suggest an even pairing, though the pre-fight odds tell a different tale.
Stevenson is listed as a -1200 favorite by bet365 sportsbook, which views Zepeda as a +750 underdog. Simply put, Zepeda’s ability to carry out the prophetic claims by De La Hoya – the co-founder and chairman of Golden Boy Promotions – would go down as among the year’s biggest upsets.
That hasn’t discouraged Zepeda and those who back him from subscribing to the theory that excessive pressure burst pipes.
“The volume of punches and power will be key,” vowed Zepeda. “That will keep us in the fight and allow us to come out ahead. Applying the pressure that definess me will be beneficial for putting on a great fight.
“I'm not going to leave anything to the judges. I'm going to go out and fight my fight, and apply pressure until I prevail.”
