One thing Shakur Stevenson never does is shy away from a challenge—and now, his sights appear firmly set on a potential title defense against mandatory challenger William Zepeda. The two were initially expected to clash earlier this year, but the matchup never materialized after Mexico’s Zepeda was forced to withdraw before an official announcement could be made.

The 28-year-old claimed he suffered a hand injury during his first fight against Tevin Farmer. This led to Stevenson pursuing a fight against Floyd Schofield Jr., which ended up meeting the same fate as the Zepeda fight. Briton’s Josh Padley came in as a replacement, but that wasn’t the fight the boxing fans or Stevenson were craving. 

Despite claiming a hand injury, Zepeda went on to clash with Farmer one more time, producing a second win. Now, the WBC has officially ordered WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson to defend his title against ‘Interim’ titleholder William Zepeda. However, no official announcement regarding the fight has been made as of the time of writing. 

As it turns out, Stevenson is running out of patience as he sent a menacing message to his potential next opponent while sharing a penciled-in date for their fight. Speaking to DAZN Boxing during the Jaron Ennis-Eimantas Stanionis event, the Newark native said, “Honestly, Zepeda is a great fighter. I don’t [have anything] bad to say about him.”

However, Stevenson acknowledged he harbored some bad intentions for Zepeda in the fight. “But hopefully, we make this fight happen, and I’m going to put belt to A-S-S,” Stevenson told the reporter. When asked whether he felt the fight would even happen, ‘Sugar’ seemed confident about his and Zepeda’s desires to make the fight.

“Oh yeah, for sure. I know that he wants to fight me. I want to fight him,” Stevenson said, later threatening Zepeda with the consequences of avoiding the fight. “If he [doesn’t] fight me, he’s the interim champion, he’ll lose his interim title. So if you want to become the regular champion, the real champion at the weight class, you got to go through me.”

When asked about when he would like the fight to unfold, Stevenson added, “Anytime, anytime, whenever he’s ready. I like July, August, September, whenever, whenever he…” While Stevenson is down to make the fight anytime, his promoter is still trying to reach a deal.

Eddie Hearn shares update on Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda

Eddie Hearn remains optimistic about finalizing Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda without resorting to a purse bid. The WBC has mandated the lightweight title fight, giving Matchroom and Golden Boy Promotions until May 6 to strike a deal. “We would always prefer to do a deal. I think we can do a deal,” Hearn told The Ring.

Both promotional outfits work with DAZN, which Hearn believes should help ease negotiations. Stevenson, however, is reportedly frustrated with the financial offer on the table, as it mirrors his purse for a one-sided win over late replacement Josh Padley. “The market’s changing all the time… naturally there will be a slight reverse,” Hearn noted, referencing the cooling Saudi investment in boxing.

Despite the complications, Hearn is eyeing Stevenson’s hometown as the perfect location. “This is a big fight that will do really, really well there,” he said of Newark, New Jersey.

Having said that, even though Shakur Stevenson seems ready for action, William Zepeda hasn’t signed off on the fight yet. However, Eddie Hearn seems confident that the two parties can come to an agreement without letting the fight go to a purse bid. Do you think Zepeda is trying to duck Stevenson?