With boxing financier Turki Alalshikh pushing fiercely for greater entertainment value in his bouts following the May duds in Times Square and Saudi Arabia, his greatest target seems to be lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson.
Alalshikh jokes of bringing a retractable ring to Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York Saturday when unbeaten three-division champion Stevenson defends his WBC lightweight belt versus Mexico’s top-ranked contender William Zepeda.
Stevenson, 23-0 (11 KOs), is two fights removed from his disappointing, evasive showing versus Edwin De Los Santos in late 2023 that still stains his reputation as he heads to this match against the aggressive, power-punching William Zepeda, 33-0 (27 KOs).
“He’ll stand in front of Zepeda a bit,” ProBox TV analyst Chris Algieri assured of Stevenson on Friday’s episode of “BoxingScene Today.” “He’s not a runner. Shakur is best at controlling the distance. Zepeda needs to close the distance.
“The bigger issue is Shakur’s hands. [If they’re pain-free], he can stand in front of Zepeda and disarm him, just like he did [former two-division champion] Oscar Valdez.”
Fellow former world champion and ProBox TV analyst Paulie Malignaggi reminded that when a quality boxer controls the distance, it often mutes the pressure fighter, as Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeaux did in defeating returning Fighter of the Year Nonito Donaire more than a decade ago.
“You start getting gun-shy. And with Zepeda coming off his PTSD versus [Tevin] Farmer, if he starts getting picked off by shots, will it make [him] put his hands in his pocket?” Malignaggi wonders.
Trainer Robert Garcia, who trained Donaire versus Rigondeaux, can foresee that type of event with Stevenson fighting “smart, keeping his distance and looking sensational – not by running, but using angles and counterpunching.”
The hand issue is something to watch closely after Stevenson endured pain before stopping replacement opponent Josh Padley February 22 in Saudi Arabia.
Alalshikh is so concerned by Stevenson going inactive that he dropped the more significant fight versus Zepeda below a non-title super-middleweight bout between New York’s Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz.
“I believe Shakur is willing to stand around Zepeda … he knows he owes it to the boxing world,” Garcia said.
No matter how small the ring is, “defensive wizards can stand right in front of you and make you miss – by a half inch, by a millimeter,” Algieri said. “There’s lots of ways to work in a smaller ring.”
Malignaggi said the onus is on Zepeda. “Closing the distance is the key,” he said.
A Stevenson victory followed next month by a possible WBA title victory by champion Gervonta “Tank” in his rematch versus Lamont Roach Jnr makes a super-fight between the winners essential, the “BoxingScene Today” cast agreed, as the division has been strengthened by new champion Raymond Muratalla, November WBO title fighter Abdullah Mason and unbeaten contender Floyd Schofield.
“These guys should all be fighting each other - fight the best,” Malignaggi implored. “Shakur’s the best.”
Winning convincingly on Saturday with high entertainment value would convince everyone else.
