Why a much criticised pound-for-pound star needs to prove himself against hard-hitting Mexican

New York's Louis Armstrong Stadium will host world title action on Saturday night with a fight which has been a long time coming. 

WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is set to defend his title against the hard-hitting William Zepeda who has been waiting in the wings for his shot at world glory.

It should be an intriguing contest for fight fans across and DAZN News' Matt Astbury takes a look at the road to this co-main event at Ring III.

Stevenson under pressure from critics

Shakur Stevenson is one of boxing's most talented fighters.

The American is already a three-weight world champion after winning world title belts at featherweight and super featherweight, but outside of the hardcore boxing fanbase, he is a relatively unknown name. 

Despite featuring on big fight cards, including those staged by Riyadh Season, Stevenson's performances have often been labelled "boring".

 

He may have beaten Josh Padley in February by stoppage, but he was expected to make easy work of the late replacement.

Zepeda should pose plenty of challenges for Stevenson, and if that is the case, maybe the defending WBC lightweight champion will finally have that breakthrough moment he craves.

Zepeda overcomes tough Farmer battle to challenge for world title

With William Zepeda knocking out opponents for fun, it felt inevitable that a world title challenge would come sooner rather than later. 

Then came a meeting with Tevin Farmer in November for the WBC interim lightweight title in Riyadh. Zepeda was hoping for a comfortable performance against Farmer, but the veteran managed to knock down the Mexican in the fourth during a difficult 12 round contest.

 

Zepeda managed to get the win on a split decision draw, but his march towards a world title was brought to a brief halt with a rematch against Farmer four months later. 

On that occasion, Zepeda put in a more convincing showing and beat Farmer by majority decision to land his shot at Stevenson.

Stevenson sends warning to Zepeda

 

The war of words ahead of the opening bell is underway, and it's Stevenson who is ramping up the mind games.

Speaking to The Ring, Stevenson vowed that he would "beat the s—t" out of Zepeda when the pair meet in the Big Apple.

“I pull out my belt and I beat the shit out of him and keep beating him all night until the referee jumps in or someone jumps in to save him,” Stevenson said.

Will Stevenson live up to his prediction? We will have to wait until July 12 live on DAZN PPV.

Watch Usyk versus Dubois 2 live and exclusive on DAZN PPV on Saturday, July 19 for £24.99 UK; $59.99 US; $19.99/equivalent ROW. Buy the PPV now here.