A blockbuster showdown awaits boxing fans on July 12th at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. Interim WBC lightweight champion William Zepeda is set to challenge reigning titleholder Shakur Stevenson in a high-stakes clash. Aware that defeating Stevenson through conventional means may be unlikely, Zepeda is turning to his Plan B—a strategy he believes could shock the world.

While the fight is not in Stevenson’s hometown, Queens isn’t far from New Jersey, where Stevenson grew up. This has led to Zepeda’s theory that the 27-year-old southpaw will receive the hometown favor from the officials during the fight. However, it’s important to note that the judges for the bout won’t be officially approved by the New York State Athletic Commission until early July. Regardless, this begs the question—what is Zepeda’s Plan B?

According to a report from The Ring, the 28-year-old undefeated Mexican boxer claimed, “My mindset is a stoppage, maybe it could be in the 10th round, maybe it could be earlier. Maybe it can be a little later.” Even though Zepeda isn’t sure when the knockout will come, he is sure that he will have to produce one if he wants to secure the victory. “But I know that I have to get a stoppage. I am coming to New York. This is his hometown,” Zepeda added. 

“The judges are in his favor, and I know that I cannot leave this up to the judges. So, my mindset is only… to go out and destroy,” he told the Ring. A majority of Stevenson’s fights have gone the distance, yet none have caused any doubts about his win. Meanwhile, Zepeda’s last two fights against Tevin Farmer went the distance, where he failed to secure unanimous decision wins. In his first fight against Farmer, he won via a narrow split decision, and in the second, by majority decision.

The Stevenson fight is expected to look vastly different from Zepeda’s bout against Tevin Farmer. While Farmer stood his ground and exchanged in the pocket, Stevenson is expected to take a far more elusive, defense-oriented approach. Known for his calculated style, Stevenson consistently prioritizes avoiding damage, using movement and timing to control the pace and distance of the fight.

Yet, Zepeda claims he has the perfect strategy to counter Stevenson.

William Zepeda plans to take Shakur Stevenson into deep waters

It’s highly likely that Stevenson won’t be willing to trade with Zepeda as Farmer did, knowing Zepeda excels in close-quarter exchanges and can pack a punch. So, ‘Camaron’ seems to have worked on countering Stevenson’s strategy in the gym. “It’s something that I worked on mentally in the gym,” Zepeda said.

The 28-year-old realizes that, regardless of how many times Stevenson says he will be aggressive and trade with Zepeda, “he’s not gonna trade with me. I know that I gotta make this fight physical. I know that I gotta make this fight a dog fight.” However, Zepeda claims he wants to be cautious while doing it, noting, “gotta be smart as I do it, and I can’t just lunge in, I can’t just [make] the mistakes that I [made] with Tevin Farmer.”

In case Stevenson decides that he can trade with Zepeda, the undefeated Mexican fighter claims his power will scare Stevenson into backing away. “I do know that once he feels the power, once I start touching his body, there’s no way that he’s gonna stand there and trade with me,” he said. 

That said, it appears William Zepeda is taking his upcoming fight against Shakur Stevenson extremely seriously, especially since a loss in this fight will tarnish his perfect record. However, only time will tell how successful he will be in his approach. Do you think Zepeda can stop Stevenson?