William Zepeda Faces Giovanni Cabrera In Stepping Stone To Shakur

William Zepeda, the #1 ranked contender at lightweight, battles Giovanni Cabrera in less than two weeks on Saturday, July 6th, live on DAZN from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

(Credit: Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)

Zepeda plans to beat Cabrera (22-1, 7 KOs) in a dominating fashion and then take on unbeaten Shakur Stevenson next for the WBC 135-lb belt. That’s a fight that Zepeda wants, and he feels he’s got the style to dethrone the confident Newark, New Jersey native.

The pressure fighter Zepeda has looked outstanding in his last four fights, beating Maxi Hughes, Mercito Gesta, Jaime Arboleda, and Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz.

Cabrera, 29, will be an excellent test for Zepeda to show whether he’s ready for the next step to fight for a world title. Giovanni lost a close 12-round split decision to Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last year in July in a fight that many fans felt he deserved to win.

The 5’9″ Cabrera gave Cruz fits with his pressure in the second half of the fight and had him looking shaky in the final rounds. Since that defeat, Cabrera has returned to defeat Ricardo Quiroz by a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision in March.

The Golden Boy-promoted Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) is ranked #1 by the IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO at 135, which is rarely seen in a sport in any weight class, not just lightweight.

Zepeda Targeting Shakur

“He’s the type of fighter that is a difficult opponent. He came into a lot of fights as the opponent, and he came out with the victory,” said William Zepeda to SnowQueenLA about Giovanni Cabera. He throws a lot of punches, too, so that’s what we’re getting ready for, someone that is going to give us a lot of work.”

Cabrera has the boxing skills to give Zepeda problems if he’s not on top of him, pressuring him the entire fight. At 5’9″, Cabrera is tall for the lightweight division, and his size and skills is hard for most fighters in the division to figure out.

“I like Shakur because our styles mesh,” said William Zepeda when asked which of the world champions at 135 that he’d like to fight next. “He’s the type of fighter that doesn’t put himself in danger in his fights.”

It’ll be good to see Shakur put under real pressure from a fighter who does not let up for the entire fight, the way Zepeda will. Shakur feels that he’s the best at 135, but he looked vulnerable in his last fight against a puncher. He could fall apart against Zepeda and wind up getting exposed.

“It would be the type of fight where I would go after him, and he would box and do his thing, but it would be a very entertaining fight. We are going to fight. Whether it’s at 135 or 140, that fight is going to happen,” said Zepeda.

🔒’d in for 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕#ZepedaCabrera | LIVE on DAZN July 6
🎟️: https://t.co/o3NDSpwtb5 pic.twitter.com/GyYVWUNRU1

— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) June 20, 2024