Shakur to defend lightweight belt vs. Zepeda on July 12 in NYC
Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda are set to square off in a lightweight title fight July 12 in New York, The Ring Magazine announced Thursday night.
A venue is still to be determined. Full details will be revealed in the next few days.
Stevenson will be defending his WBC lightweight belt. Zepeda is Stevenson's mandatory challenger.
The WBC ordered Stevenson and Zepeda to find a deal earlier this month. They had until May 6 to reach an agreement and avoid a purse bid.
The matchup will see a pair of young and unbeaten stars squaring off in what promises to be an entertaining clash. Stevenson enters the fight sporting a 23-0 record with 11 knockouts, while Zepeda is 33-0 with 27 KOs.
Stevenson, a champion at three weight classes, claimed the vacant WBC lightweight title with a unanimous victory over Edwin De Los Santos in November 2023. Since then he's successfully defended the belt twice, most recently Feb. 22 via a ninth-round TKO of Josh Padley in Saudi Arabia.
Several of the 27-year-old's recent fights have been contested across the Hudson River in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey. Stevenson hasn't fought in New York since 2019, when he beat Christopher Diaz at Madison Square Garden.
Zepeda, 28, became Stevenson's mandatory challenger following two victories over Tevin Farmer in the past year. "Camarón" beat Farmer via split decision in a 10-round fight in November in Saudi Arabia, then took the 12-round rematch in a majority decision four months later.
The wins over Farmer also earned Zepeda the WBC's vacant interim lightweight title.