Everything indicates that the fight between Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda will take place, but not as the former expected. However, the solution is not bad for anyone and it is expected to be a resounding success, especially for the broadcast and obviously the pay-per-view rights in the United States.
First, the New Jersey native boxer was unhappy after Oscar de la Hoya offered him a substantially smaller purse than the one offered by Turki Alalashik in a fight that was to take place under the umbrella of the Riyadh Season, so he declined the deal.
Turki Alalshikh refuses to pay more
The problem is that Turki also made it clear that he would not pay more because the fight is not worth shelling out money as is done in Riyadh and limited the purse to $500,000, something that compared to what Shakur earned in his previous fight with Josh Padley, would really give the American boxer the reason.
It is a fact that the WBC’s undefeated lightweight monarch deserves a higher salary, but not in the proportion of a quote attributed to prestigious boxing journalist Dan Rafael on X, in which he allegedly claimed “based on information from Zepeda’s team” that “Shakur was asking for a 90/10 split in the earnings percentage“, which is an absolute nonsense
Dan Rafael put an end to the controversy involving him with this fake quote by responding to the tweet which also claimed that Shakur had said that nobody knows Zepeda and that the fight would be watched by everyone for him and not for his opponent: “Lies. I didn’t write or say that, so to hell with this account.”
Eddie Hearn to the rescue
In the midst of this mess, it was the figure of Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn who came out on top, as he told iFL TV that he will take the eagerly awaited fight to DAZN: “Today I had a very positive conversation with Eric Gomez of Golden Boy. We will go to DAZN and say: ‘Let’s make Shakur Stevenson vs. Zepeda happen’“.
Hearn also said that bringing Stevenson vs. Zepeda “one of the best fights in the sport” to DAZN is not only a “smart decision, but a power strategy“, as it will not only generate better pay-per-view numbers, but also keep the money flowing in the US. And it’s certainly a good way to flex its muscles to Turki and the Riyadh Season.
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