Ryan Garcia Says Shakur Stevenson ‘Isn’t That Good’ And Is Overhyped’

Ryan Garcia says WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson “isn’t that good.” He states that Shakur is being “hyped up’ because he sat on the ropes in his last fight against the volume puncher William Zepeda on July 12, 2025, blocking shots.

(Credit: Golden Boy)

Zepeda’s Lack of Power

Ryan says Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) could do that because “Zepeda doesn’t have any power in his shots.” So, Stevenson could stay on the ropes, block, and occasionally land a potshot. Garcia points out that the fighters Shakur doesn’t do well against are ones with power, like Edwin De Los Santos.

Ryan says Stevenson can’t stay in the pocket against punchers and has to move around. That’s when he doesn’t look good. That would explain why Shakur moved so much in his fights against De Los Santos and Jeremia Nakathilia. Fans view those two as the hardest punchers Stevenson has fought since turning professional in 2017.

Ryan says he would like to fight Shakur and states that he would “give it to him.” He believes that Stevenson would have no power to worry him, similar to Devin Haney. Garcia says he would have to “Chase him” because Stevenson would be “running, running, and running.”

Fighting Power Punchers

“Speaking of Shakur. Power punchers don’t highlight his skills, but the guys that throw volume highlight it because he can just fade them off [block] and just crack them. That guy is not that good,” said Ryan Garcia to Cigar Talk about Shakur Stevenson.

Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) landed a lot of body shots on Shakur while he was backed against the ropes in their fight on July 12, 2025, at the Louis Armstrong Arena in Queens, New York.

The problem Zepeda had was that the judges were more impressed with the occasional headshot that Stevenson landed. They seemingly filtered out the nonstop body shots Zepeda was landing on Shakur in every round, and just dialed in on his punches to the head. It was like watching an amateur fight with judges only scoring headshots. If Zepeda had been better aware of how the format’s judges were using for their scoring, he would have focused exclusively on throwing to the head.

“They hyped that up, ‘Oh, he [Shakur] can stand in the pocket now.’ He’s standing in the pocket because there’s no danger,” said Garcia. “If you really know boxing, you know that Zepeda doesn’t have any power in his shots.”

Zepeda came close to knocking Stevenson down in round three when he landed a right hand that caused him to fall backward to the side. Although Stevenson denied being hurt and almost going down, the slow-motion replays showed Zepeda landing a hard right hand that caused him to fall.

“If I fought Zepeda, I would let him throw punches and dodge with my shoulders and just crack him one time hard,” said Garcia. “You can let him throw, throw, throw, and wait for a good shot. That’s what he [Stevenson] was doing. Wait, wait, wait, boom.”

Zepeda would be a hard fight for Ryan as well. That wouldn’t be easy work like he says. Ryan would have to move constantly to avoid being overwhelmed by the shots. If he just stood with his back against the ropes like Shakur did, he would need to count on the judges to filter out the body attack from Zepeda. It’s asking a lot to assume the judges will score the fight as if it were an amateur contest rather than a professional one.

Stevenson’s Perceived Weakness

“Edwin De Los Santos is a hard hitter. He [Shakur] would even have a hard time with Rolly,” said Garcia. “You feel his hands. It’s going to put you on edge. When Shakur is on edge, he don’t look that good. His skills that you saw against Zepeda won’t come out. He can’t just sit in the pocket like Floyd does. He has to be moving. There’s a big difference, and it’s not going to look good.”

It would be difficult for Stevenson to fight off the ropes against a big power puncher like Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero. The massive size of Rolly would make things difficult for Stevenson if he chose to fight stationary. Rolly resembled a junior middleweight in size after rehydrating for his welterweight fight against Ryan Garcia on May 2, 2025, at Times Square in New York.

Shakur’s Three Division Title Wins

• Edwin De Los Santos: WBC 135-lb ttle on November 16, 2023
• Jamel Herring: WBO 130-lb belt on October 23, 2021
• Joet Gonzalez: WBO 126-lb belt on October 26, 2019

Garcia’s Prediction: ‘He’d Run’

“Me and Shakur? I would give it to him. I want that because those punches aren’t going to hurt. Just like Devin Haney,” said Garcia. “I just make sure every punch I throw, Shakur would feel it. He wouldn’t like being in the ring with me. He’s going to be running, running, and running. I’m going to have to chase him down and hunt him. What do the judges want to see. I just feel there’s a sense of favoritism for the guy who is running right now.”