Shakur Stevenson to defend lightweight title against William Zepeda in July

Shakur Stevenson will defend his WBC lightweight title against William Zepeda in New York on 12th July 2025.

27-year-old Stevenson, who hails from Newark, New Jersey, will make his third defence of his WBC lightweight title against Mexican Zepeda, who is the interim champion, on a Ring Magazine card.

Former six-weight world champion and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya, who represents Zepeda, confirmed the fight on a post on X: "Zepeda v Shakur is on!"

This contest between two unbeaten fighters in Stevenson and Zepeda will celebrate the launch of The Ring Magazine's new television show 'Inside The Ring'.

An intriguing battle between WBC champion Stevenson and number one contender Zepeda was ordered by the commission on 7th April, with the two camps given a 30-day period to agree terms.

This bout will mark Stevenson's first outing since stopping British underdog Josh Padley in the ninth round on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol in February 2025, dropping his opponent three times before the towel was thrown in.

The American, who is promoted by Matchroom, was originally due to face Floyd Schofield before the 22-year-old pulled out on the week of the fight due to illness.

Slick southpaw Stevenson will hope victory over Zepeda can help set up money-spinning fights against the likes of Gervonta 'Tank' Davis, Devin Haney or Ryan Garcia.

Zepeda (33-0) will be no pushover, however, with the Mexican currently number five in The Ring's lightweight rankings.

28-year-old Zepeda's last fight was a rematch against American Tevin Farmer in Cancun, Mexico, winning via majority decision to retain his WBC interim title.

Further details concerning Stevenson v Zepeda, including the venue, are yet to be confirmed.

James Wilson

• Matchroom
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