Shakur Stevenson will face William Zepeda in what may be his toughest test yet.
Shakur Stevenson‘s next opponent is 33-0 William Zepeda, who boasts 27 knockouts to his name.
Stevenson vs Zepeda is one of two main events featured on the bill, with the other being Hamzah Sheeraz vs Edgar Berlanga.
Zepeda is coming off of two close fights with Tevin Farmer, though decimated a British opponent just a few fights ago.
William Zepeda stopped Maxi Hughes in 2024
Before his fights with Tevin Farmer, Zepeda dispatched 22-1 Giovanni Cabrera in just three rounds.
One fight before that, he faced ‘The Cinderella Man’, Maxi Hughes.
Hughes, nicknamed ‘The Cinderella Man’ after Jim Braddock, who dropped Joe Louis, due to his revival from career obscurity, was 22-5-2 in 2021 as he headed into a British title fight.
Since winning the belt, Hughes won the IBO lightweight title against Jovanni Straffon, and beat a well-known fighter in Kid Galahad a couple fights later.
In 2023 Hughes faced George Kambosos Jr., and after 12 rounds many believed it was the underdog Brit who had sprung a major upset as part of his fairytale career.
Unfortunately, though, Kambosos beat Hughes controversially in a majority decision.
In a bid to keep his career momentum, Hughes stepped right into a match with Zepeda next, and was forced to quit after facing ruthless punishment for four rounds.
Maxi Hughes caused a huge upset in Monte Carlo a few fights later
Just a few fights later, after getting back on track, Hughes went into a fight with Ireland’s Gary Cully.
Cully was 18-1, having lost in a big upset to Jose Felix a few fights prior, but was the favorite to win due to his huge height and reach, and Hughes’ mileage and number of losses.
Hughes, never one to shrink in the face of adversity, made his fans proud as he cruised to an absolute shutout victory, winning every single round against Cully.