A month ago, Turki Alalshikh made it explicit. “From this point on, I don’t want to see any more Tom and Jerry-type boxing matches where one fighter is running around the ring and the other is chasing him.” Having burnt their hands with the William Scull-Canelo fight in the previous month, the Riyadh Season head was determined. He and his team will no longer support a fighter who doesn’t fight with ‘heart and pride.’

And to prevent fighters from running, he came up with a plan: ‘Shrink the ring!’ Relax, it’s a joke. With just days left for ‘Ring III,‘ featuring Shakur Stevenson and Edgar Berlanga’s double headliner, Alalshikh’s message about the ring at the Louis Armstrong Stadium has gone quite viral. For the unversed, the unexpected message might have appeared a cause of concern. But for someone who’s determined to leave his imprint on the lightweight landscape, such suggestions, even if true, remain inconsequential.

“See y’all Saturday,” writes Shakur Stevenson. Be it a ring that’s shrinking or even expanding into a full-blown football field, he’s not bothered. Maybe Turki Alalshikh bantered deliberately, hoping to provoke an unfazed response from the lightweight champion.

Turki Alalshikh quipped yesterday, “We have a surprise for @ShakurStevenson on Saturday, a ring that shrinks as the fight goes on.” The post featured Shakur Stevenson in a triumphant pose. So Alalshikh shared how Stevenson recently suggested a ‘beatdown’ of Zepeda. But the Mexican power hitter is equally determined to thwart the Newark-born Olympian’s game plan.

The Stevenson-Zepeda title match comes in the wake of two fights that seemingly left a bitter taste in the mouth of Alalshikh and scores of fans. On May 2, Devin Haney defeated Jose Ramirez at the Times Square ‘Fatal Fury.‘ A day later, the Canelo-Scull fight unfolded in Riyadh. With the least number of punches thrown, the fights received scathing rebuke from fans and pundits alike.

Any further repetitions would threaten the brand’s credibility. Hence, Riyadh Season hopes ‘Ring III‘ meets fans’ expectations. Super nail-biting thrillers where fighters slug it out instead of avoiding the hits.

Stevenson will rise to the occasion

And quite a few voices seem to support Shakur Stevenson’s claims. Former light welterweight champion and now boxing analyst Chris Algieri was pretty clear: “He’ll stand in front of Zepeda a bit. He’s not a runner.” The only issue that concerns Algieri and perhaps many others remains the condition of Stevenson’s hands. Following the Josh Padley fight, several reports revealed the champion suffering injuries on both hands.

Otherwise, the ‘Tom and Jerry’ talks remain completely ‘out of place’ for Shakur Stevenson. Speaking on ‘The Brian Campbell Experience,‘ he said, “I just feel as though we all fighters; we all go in through long training camps, and we work super hard to come out there and deliver the best of our abilities. Now if some guys want to move and use movement, I think that’s part of boxing.”

While memes about Turki Alalshikh’s shrinking ring have been going places, to Shakur Stevenson, there’s only one target. To obliterate William Zepeda and establish himself as the pre-eminent voice at 135 pounds. A win that could potentially fetch him the career-defining matchup against Gervonta Davis.

What are your thoughts on how the Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda fight could pan out on the coming Saturday night?