Shakur Stevenson Wins William Zepeda Fight By Unanimous Decision to Retain WBC Title

Shakur Stevenson picked up one of the biggest wins of his career on Saturday night, earning a unanimous decision win over William Zepeda at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.

Zepeda came out with his typical high-volume attack from the outset, testing Stevenson vaunted defensive ability. Stevenson didn’t run and fired off his own offense. 

The back-and-forth was something we aren’t used to seeing from a Stevenson fight and Zepeda’s plan to overwhelm his opponent led to rare success:

Stevenson has often been criticized for running away from opponents, but that wasn’t the case against Zepeda. He was comfortable enough to stay in striking distance and fire back clean counters. 

Not everyone loved Stevenson’s approach, though. Former world champion Shawn Porter wanted to see Stevenson get back to his movement to counter Zepeda’s aggression. 

Sergio Mora saw shades of a classic fight in Floyd Mayweather’s career with Zepeda pushing Stevenson like Miguel Cotto pushed Money. 

However, Stevenson’s precision started to take its toll as the fight moved to the later rounds. He showcased better power punching than we’ve seen from him and had the more impactful shots. 

Zepeda’s aggression went from a strength to a weakness. Stevenson just got more comfortable defending against his flurries while timing his offense. 

Ultimately, Stevenson did everything that fans have wanted him to do in this fight. He utilized his defense while still engaging Zepeda and showcased his skills. 

The bout is the latest in Stevenson's campaign to become one of the biggest stars in the sport. His talent is clear, but his resume is short on big names or highlight-reel finishes.

Zepeda is on a different tier than most of Stevenson's opponents to date. The 29-year-old came into the bout with a perfect 33-0 record with 27 knockouts. He hasn't been a world champion, but Stevenson has his sights on an even bigger name in the near future.

He has continually called for a bout against Gervonta "Tank" Davis.

"That’s a fight I’ve been wanting forever, and I know that the time is here. We can’t wait no longer," he said ahead of his victory over Zepeda, per Matt Astbury of DAZN. "Me versus Tank Davis is the fight to make, I’m excited for the challenge, but I’ve got to handle this challenge first."

Now that he's handled the Zepeda challenge it might make sense for a pairing with Davis. Davis already holds the WBA lightweight title so it would be an opportunity for the champs to unite two of the belts.

The WBO belt is currently vacated while Vasiliy Lomachenko has the IBF's crown.

But even if Davis isn't willing to give Stevenson a shot right now he has other fighters in mind. Most recently, he called on Teofimo Lopez to come back down to lightweight to put together another superfight in another interview with DAZN.

Stevenson might not have the most exciting style, but he keeps stacking impressive wins together. His defense and slick counterpunching would make him a fascinating matchup for the elite 135-pounders in the sport right now.