Bob Arum: Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda Is A Phone Call Away
Mar 17, 2024 • 2:30 PM ET
The first fighter uttered from the mouths of both William Zepeda and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya following Zepeda’s beatdown of Maxi Hughes Saturday night was Shakur Stevenson.
Bob Arum, Stevenson’s promoter, welcomes De La Hoya to now make his first Sunday phone call to Arum.
“Let Oscar call me and I’ll get that fight done for July,” Arum told BoxingScene. “We have a date, July 6, and the Prudential Center is reserved. We certainly would consider him.”
Mexico’s Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) was sensational in a relentless attack of England’s Hughes (26-7-2) that forced Hughes’ corner to throw in the towel after four rounds.
Hughes’ travel to the U.S. was complicated by visa issues, but Zepeda was clearly on a mission to use The Cosmopolitan ring in Las Vegas his stage to pronounce himself ready for world champions.
“Shakur, if you’re watching, let’s get it on, let’s go,” De La Hoya said in the ring.
Sunday morning, Arum reminded of many others who’ve been braggadocious in the ring and then muted themselves the next day.
“Zepeda is signed to another promoter, so we need to wait for that call,” Arum said.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) told BoxingScene last week that he’s eager to “whip as*” in the division and remove the distaste of his title triumph over Edwin De Los Santos in November that was booed for inactivity.
Arum said he’s confident Stevenson can defeat anyone near his weight class thanks to his hand speed, evasiveness and ring IQ.
“I don’t think anyone can defeat Shakur,” Arum said. “He’s way different.
“[Zepeda] would be an interesting fight, sure, but nobody’s going to beat Shakur. He’s the best fighter around all those divisions. He’s just really special.”
Stevenson has also expressed interest in fighting 140-pound champion Devin Haney should Ryan Garcia withdraw from their April 20 bout at Barclays Center in New York following repeatedly erratic social-media posts and behavior.
“Sure, if Garcia falls out, we will go after that fight, but right now, [Garcia and Haney] are scheduled to fight,” Arum said.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
