Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya has faced significant criticism this week for his apparent lack of enthusiasm in having his young star, #1 ranked contender William Zepeda, challenge WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson. The WBC has ordered Stevenson and Zepeda to begin negotiations, with a purse bid scheduled for August 20th if they cannot reach an agreement. However, De La Hoya quickly responded on social media: "Nobody will tell him who he must fight next."
De La Hoya likely realizes that a fight between Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda might not perform well on pay-per-view. Such a matchup would be fortunate to draw even 50,000 PPV buys. If the fight isn't on PPV, the networks would probably still provide both fighters with satisfactory compensation for the scale of the bout. Stevenson, a former three-division world champion, lacks widespread recognition among casual boxing fans. Hardcore fans often criticize his fighting style, labeling the 27-year-old as "boring."
Similarly, Zepeda isn't a household name among casual fans, gaining recent attention primarily due to his knockout victories over Giovanni Cabrera, Maxi Hughes, and Mercito Gesta. These wins, however, haven’t been significant enough to capture the broader boxing public’s attention. For Zepeda to ascend to the PPV level, he needs to fight notable names like Gervonta "Tank" Davis or Vasily Lomachenko, but such fights are challenging to secure.
Until Zepeda can secure such high-profile matches, he might be better off avoiding Stevenson, much like Davis and Lomachenko seem to be doing. There’s no substantial benefit for Zepeda in fighting Stevenson, as he would essentially be doing Stevenson a favor. In today's boxing world, holding a championship title often pales in comparison to overall popularity, a category in which Stevenson doesn't fit and likely never will.
If Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn were to sign Stevenson, it would be prudent to do so for a one- or two-fight deal, provided he has guaranteed opponents that could attract fan interest. The only viable names in this context would be Jaron "Boots" Ennis and Gervonta Davis. However, securing a fight with Davis would be difficult without significant backing, and it could still financially underperform on PPV. Moreover, Stevenson is unlikely to agree to fight Ennis, as he would face a considerable challenge against a powerful slugger like him.
Shakur Stevenson's career is nothing short of spectacular, read more about it here.
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