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Shakur Stevenson comfortably defended his WBC lightweight title against the relentless William Zepeda this past weekend in a performance reminiscent of Floyd Mayweather.
Headed into the fight, there were many questions surrounding Stevenson’s ability to handle a fighter with Zepeda’s output – but the Newark native proved beyond any doubt that he can adapt to any style and win ‘whatever it takes’.
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While it may seem early to make comparisons to a legend like Mayweather, the similarities are hard to ignore.
Mayweather was heavily criticised towards the end of his career for his defensive boxing style. Shutting his opponents out made for less interesting fights for the spectators.
Eddie Hearn openly spoke against Mayweather before his 2014 clash with Marcos Maidana for avoiding the big fights and taking on subpar opposition.
Hearn said: “When the big fights don’t happen, the public loses faith. That is happening with Floyd Mayweather.”
He continued: “He is the king of the ring and the king of making money. But fight week seems particularly flat, and I’m hearing from my people in America that there is not the buzz or even much interest in his fight with Marcos Maidana.”
This is something Stevenson has also been accused of – not being a fan-friendly fighter and winning his world titles against opposition who never really posed a threat.
Long-serving commentator and Hall of Famer Jim Lampley said of Stevenson: “So far Shakur Stevenson is choosing to win, and so far in choosing to win, he’s getting less entertaining.
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But for both men, a time came when they had to prove to the world that they could stand and fight with the best.
Stevenson vs Zepeda (2025)
For Stevenson, Zepeda was the perfect opportunity to show his grit against a fighter whose power and volume punching made him a ferocious competitor who has more knockouts than Stevenson does fights.
Stevenson showed incredible composure and counterpunching ability to tame the fire of Zepeda and dominate their exchanges, landing eye-catching counter shots and combinations.
Just like we saw from Mayweather during his best years, Stevenson boxed from behind a Philly shell when he was forced to the ropes.
He was not only effective on the back foot, however, the WBC champion surprised onlookers when he was happy to go toe-to-toe with the fierce Mexican puncher, absorbing or avoiding the best he had to throw and responding with precision and power.
The only flaw in an otherwise commanding performance was a well-timed right hand from Zepeda that briefly unbalanced Stevenson, but the American did not waver and quickly returned to dominating the fight.
Zepeda showed true spirit to continue his assault despite not landing any meaningful work for the majority of the fight. But the more he threw, the more obvious it became he was outmatched by the American, who could answer him from anywhere – on the inside, at range, on the backfoot or even off the ropes.
After the fight Shakur sent a message to the world and said he is more than just a boxer, he is a fighter too.
Stevenson said: “Whatever it takes to get the job done. I got dog in me, I’m not no puppy, I’m not no poodle, I’m a tough guy.”
He continued: “He pushed me to another level.”
Mayweather had announced his retirement from boxing after brutally stopping Ricky Hatton in 2007, but came back to the ring in 2009 to fight Juan Manuel Marquez.
He put together an impressive couple of victories over Marquez and Shane Mosley, followed by a controversial knockout of Victor Ortiz, which saw him under heavy fire from the boxing public.
As well as the controversial ending to the fight, many thought Mayweather was boxing too negatively in his comeback and not providing fans with the entertainment they had paid for.
Mayweather’s moment of vindication came against Miguel Cotto in one of the toughest challenges of his career.
Cotto was, similar to Zepeda, a hard-hitting machine with an unrelenting come-forward style that Mayweather had struggled with in the past against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Jose Luis Castillo and Carlos Hernandez.
But on the night, Mayweather proved that the days of the destructive ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ were not past him but had just morphed into and become a part of his new ‘Money’ Mayweather persona.
Cotto barrelled forward at Mayweather, head low and unloading heavy barrages of hooks, which initially looked to trouble the American. But his signature Philly shell defence took the sting out of most of the punches Cotto was throwing.
The five-weight world champion, although he could have, chose not to rely so heavily on his defensive brilliance to beat Cotto and instead took the fight to the Puerto Rican on the inside using the upper cut as an effective weapon.
These tactics, as we also saw with Stevenson, created an insurmountable advantage for Mayweather. Cotto could not be effective on the inside and was simply getting picked off at range, which led to a wide unanimous decision for Mayweather against another Hall of Fame opponent.
After the fight, Larry Merchant, who had been a critic of Mayweather, asked him how he felt after being in a war with Miguel Cotto after so many years of avoiding punishment.
Mayweather said: “When it’s pay per view and the fans are paying and the fans are coming to see you. You want to give the fans excitement.»
Merchant interrupted and reminded Mayweather that we had not seen him in a fight this tough in some time.
Mayweather responded: “It’s about giving the fans excitement. That comes with the territory. Sometimes we have to suck it up and fight hard.”
The ability of Mayweather to muzzle an aggressive opponent with inch-perfect defence and lashing counter punches is something we hadn’t seen replicated so masterfully until Stevenson.
With victory over Zepeda. The boxing world has seen the true potential of Stevenson. He is a fighter who continues to evolve and rise to the challenges as they are thrown at him, just as we saw Mayweather do throughout his career.
As a three-weight world champion at just 28 years old, the lightweight champion’s achievements at such a young age are undeniable, but the Newark fighter’s toughest challenges lie ahead of him.
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