Nobody will tell William Zepeda who to fight, says Oscar De La Hoya

PROMOTER Oscar De La Hoya reckons his fighter, William Zepeda, has plenty of options to choose from, sending a clear signal that they will not be pushed in any particular direction.

check this out @williamzepeda2 is so bad ass he has four sanctioning bodies to choose from. Nobody will tell him who he must fight next.

— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) July 15, 2024

Oscar’s social media message came off the back of the news that the WBC has ordered Shakur Stevenson to defend his lightweight title against ‘Camaron’ Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs). The sanctioning body’s president, Mauricio Sulaimán, expressed his excitement about the matchup. If agreed, it would be a classic Bull vs Matador clash.

The WBC has ordered the mandatory title defense of our lightweight champion @ShakurStevenson vs @williamzepeda2 very much looking forward to this great match

— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) July 15, 2024

Zepeda is currently ranked top of the tree by all four sanctioning bodies. The WBO champion at lightweight is Denys Berinchyk, Gervonta Davis holds the WBA and Vasyl Lomachenko the IBF. The latter pair are expected to fight in a unification bout later this year.

Shakur holds the WBC title, and De La Hoya is said to be one of a number of interested parties looking to obtain Stevenson’s signature after he parted ways with Top Rank recently. 

Stevenson has previously mumbled about not wanting to be tied down to any specific promotional entity. However, promoters would be reluctant to take him on for single-fight deals, knowing he can go elsewhere after fighting under their banner, taking his star power and earning potential with him.

While Zepeda has options, so does Shakur. He may choose to vacate the title rather than face a man he described as “a hell of a fighter”. That line is straight out of the Floyd Mayweather playbook of quotes. Floyd is reported to be another name looking at securing Shakur’s signature. The drama shall, no doubt, continue for a while longer.