Shakur Stevenson Vs. Zepeda: Defying Turki’s “No Tom & Jerry” Demand

Shakur Stevenson remains stubbornly defiant that he’s going to stick to his defensive style of fighting on Saturday against William Zepeda, despite Turki Alalshikh’s comments about not wanting to see any more “Tom and Jerry” fights in his Riyadh Season events. WBC lightweight champion Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) said that he’s NOT going to “fight somebody else’s fight” by standing and brawling.

Stevenson Rejects Brawling Zepeda

Shakur’s defiant pushback against Turki can be seen as a classic case of biting the hand that feeds, as he chose him for this event. Alalshikh could have chosen a more entertaining and talented lightweight to face Zepeda, such as Andy Cruz or Abdullah Mason. He selected him, and this is the thanks he gets.

“They don’t f**** matter. They not the ones getting in that ring. I don’t got to stand and fight somebody else’s fight. I fight my own fight. And if I feel like standing there and fighting that fight, I’m doing that because I know I can win that fight. So it just matters that I come out victorious,” said Shakur Stevenson to Brian Campbell’s channel, reacting to Turki Alalshikh’s comments about not wanting any Tom and Jerry fights in his Riyadh Season events.

Do you notice the attitude with Shakur? Instead of agreeing with Turki that he needs to stand and fight to entertain fans, he’s basically saying he’s not going to change anything. If he wants to run, he’ll run. Turki is the one who will be affected if Shakur runs for 12 rounds because fans will be reluctant to purchase tickets or fights on PPV if they’re angry about the lack of entertainment on Saturday’s card.

Shakur: “Waking A Monster”

“There are a lot of doubters and people going against me. When that happens, they’re waking up a monster,” said Stevenson.

What does Shakur expect from fans? The fans aren’t blind. They saw his fight against Edwin De Los Santos, noted his reluctance to engage, and saw how the fight ended with a controversial decision. Why would they not doubt Shakur after that performance?

Moreover, look at the low-level opposition that Stevenson’s promoters have slyly matched him against since that fight: ‘The Electrician’ Josh Padley and Artem Harutyunyan. You think it was an accident that Shakur’s promoters put him in with those guys after how he performed against De Los Santos? You’d have to be naive not to connect the dots.

He’s being paid gazillions for the Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) fight, and he’s failed to bring in the fans. The Louis Armstrong Stadium venue in Queens has a large number of unsold tickets for Saturday’s event, indicating that Stevenson can’t sell.

You can only imagine the low number of buys on DAZN PPV for the event, and Shakur deserves part of the blame. He’s not someone the overall fanbase in the U.S wants to see.

Why Shakur Lost Main Event

“I got nothing to do with it. It’s something to do with the Hamzah Sheeraz kid that Turki likes,” said Stevenson when asked about his thoughts on his fight against Zepeda not being the main event for Saturday’s event in Queens.

Turki obviously wasn’t about to put the Stevenson-Zepeda fight in the headliner and watch the event bomb after Shakur’s poor performances in his last three fights against Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and Edwin De Los Santos. Shakur was booed in two of those fights, and even his own hometown fans were leaving in droves by the midpoint of his defense against Harutyunyan in Newark, New Jersey, last year.