On Saturday, July 12th, Shakur Stevenson squared off against William Zepeda in a battle for Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title. Stevenson and Zepeda entered the match with undefeated records but that may be the only thing they have in common. The way in which they arrived to their undefeated records couldn’t be more different.

This was the ultimate clash of styles as Zepeda is an all offense, pressure fighter, and volume puncher. The average number of punches thrown by a boxer per round is between 55-60. Zepeda averages 94 punches thrown per round. He uses constant pressure and an abundance of punches to wear down his opponents. This style has been very successful for him as he entered the fight on Saturday with a record of 33-0 with 27 wins by knockout.

Stevenson is a defensive mastermind, who uses his ability to dodge and block punches to open up his opponent for pinpoint counter punches. The combination of his brilliant defense along with the uncanny accuracy of his punches led to his record of 23-0 with 11 knockouts.

Despite his technical brilliance, the Newark, New Jersey native has been heavily criticized for having “boring” fights that don’t have enough action. So, boxing fans were really excited about the potential of this fight. Where William Zepeda’s non-stop pressure could “force” Shakur Stevenson into a fan-friendly battle.

Did the Fight Live Up to Hype?

It was clear from the opening bell that Zepeda wasn’t going to change his style in this fight. It was also clear that Stevenson was prepaid to stay “in the pocket” and hit Zepeda with counter shots. Zepeda gave a valiant effort and pushed Stevenson to give his best performance.

Zepeda fought a great fight and was still outclassed by Stevenson. Stevenson was able to block and dodge the majority of Zepeda’s punches while punching him with a snipper like precision.

According to Compubox numbers, the San Mateo Atenco, México native, threw 979 punches through 12 rounds and only landed 27.8% of his punches. Stevenson was able to avoid that onslaught of offense while also landing 52% of his punches.

Zepeda threw over 400 more punches than Stevenson and Stevenson still found a way to land more punches. Stevenson landed 295 punches compared to 272 for Zepeda. Shakur was not only able to land more punches but his punches were cleaner, harder, and stood out more.

William Zepeda had some moments in the fight, especially in the third and fourth rounds where he was able to pin Stevenson against the ropes and land some good shots. Outside of those moments, Stevenson dominated the rest of the bout. Two of the judges scored it 118-110 and the other scored it 119-109 all in favor of Stevenson.

This was the signature performance of Stevenson’s career and now the big question is how does he follow this up?

Endless Options

After a performance like that, there will be an outpouring from boxing fans to see Stevenson against the best at 135 or 140 pounds. Here are a few options.

Teofimo Lopez

Teofimo Lopez is the current WBO champion at 140 pounds with a record of 22-1 with 13 wins by knockout. Lopez is coming off of a very impressive performance against the previously undefeated Arnold Barboza Jr.

Lopez doesn’t currently have a match-up scheduled for later this year. A November or December showdown against Shakur Stevenson would be must-see TV. This is a match-up that you can promote as the main event of a pay-per-view.

Two slick fighters, who are not scared to put some mustard on their punches. It would be a tactical match-up with the potential for fireworks.

Floyd Schofield

Floyd Schofield was scheduled to face Shakur Stevenson on Feburary 22 of this year but became ill prior to the fight and Stevenson fought against Josh Padley instead.

Schofield took on former world champion, Tevin Farmer on June 28th and obliterated him, winning via a first round knockout.

Floyd Schofield is now 19-0 with 13 knockouts after that very impressive performance. He is the number one ranked contender in the WBA rankings for 135 pounds. The Stevenson versus Schofield fight should be easy to make since this match-up was already agreed upon. This is another fight that could headline a pay-per-view card.

Gervonta Davis

Gervonta Davis is one of the biggest stars in the sport of boxing. He is a superstar due to his one punch knockout power. Davis currently has a record of 30-0-1 with 28 wins by way of knockout.

He is set to face Lamont Roach Jr in a rematch of their draw. The date is not set but it has been reported that this will take place in August. If Davis is able to defeat Roach, then this could set up a unified title match for early next year between him and Stevenson.

This would be a very interesting match-up as both fighters are not known as volume punchers but they are both great technicians in different ways.

Does Davis have the power to knock out Stevenson? Would Stevenson’s defensive brilliance nullify the power of Davis? Boxing fans, would love to get the answer to these questions.

Andy Cruz

Andy Cruz is only 6-0 with three knockouts but came into professional boxing on the career fast track after an extensive amateur career which included an Olympic gold medal and 135 wins.

In his last professional fight, Cruz defeated Hironori Mishiro via a fifth round technical knockout. He is now the number one ranked contender in both the IBF and WBC 135 pound rankings.

Cruz is a slick offensive fighter who is defensively sound. The match-up between him and Stevenson would be the epitome of a chess match in the ring. I just wonder if the fight makes since for Stevenson with Cruz only having six professional fights on his resume.

The sky is the limit for what Stevenson can do, if he continues to stay active, discipline and hungry to get better. There are so many directions in which Shakur can go in his next match-up. Who do you want to see Shakur Stevenson fight next?