Shakur Stevenson will fight William Zepeda next, and seeks to put on a dominant performance as he did some years ago to set up the most personal fight of his career.
Shakur Stevenson is 23-0 after defeating Josh Padley, an electrician who filled in for Floyd Schofield.
Stevenson, a three-weight world champion, is gearing up to face William Zepeda in July in defense of his lightweight crown.
The build-up has already been heated, with Stevenson grabbing Zepeda at their press conference. However, there will never be a fight as personal to Stevenson as one in 2019, when he fought his own girlfriend’s brother.
Shakur Stevenson fought his girlfriend’s brother, Joet Gonzalez, for his first world title after KOing 27-4 pro
In July 2019, Stevenson, who wants Conor Benn next, faced 27-4 Alberto Guevara, an experienced fighter who had lost twice in world title challenges, including once to Leo Santa Cruz, and had lost to three undefeated fighters.
Stevenson proved his mettle in the fight, which was held in his hometown of Newark, and stopped Guevara in the third round. He has never won a fight as quickly since.
The win set up his first world title shot, which came against Joet Gonzalez, his girlfriend’s brother.
Stevenson, who lost his titles ahead of a fight with Robson Conceicao, began dating Jajaira Gonzalez as an amateur, as she was also an accomplished boxer, but never felt welcomed by her family.
Joet said of Shakur: “I never liked him as an amateur. I just thought he was loud, obnoxious, [and] disrespectful.”
Stevenson beat Gonzalez and won the title convincingly, but had nothing but respect for his opponent, even with the personal rivalry. He dedicated his post-fight interview to pleading with the Gonzalez family to get in touch with their daughter, his girlfriend:
“Can y’all please talk to your daughter? That’s all I got to say, please talk to your daughter and your sister, that’s it.”
Shakur Stevenson still didn’t earn Joet Gonzalez’s respect with his win over him
After the fight, Gonzalez refused to let go of the personal vendetta against Stevenson, and said in an interview after the loss:
“I don’t know how he can say he has no hard feelings, no disrespect, but the whole time he was disrespecting my family. It doesn’t go away just like that. Only time will tell.”
Stevenson, who had one of boxing’s worst fights, and Jajaira have since broken up, and Stevenson is now dating rapper Young Lyric.