When two undefeated talents collide in a high-stakes showdown, the boxing world doesn’t just watch—it buzzes, debates, and dissects every punch before it’s even thrown. That’s exactly the energy building ahead of this Saturday’s clash between WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda, presented under the Ring Magazine banner and broadcast live on DAZN. Fans already have their favorites, but it’s the words of a certain Golden Boy that have added a sharp edge to the pre-fight hype.

Oscar De La Hoya, the six-division world champion turned promoter, is no stranger to forecasting boxing upsets. With a résumé that includes wars against both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the Olympic gold medalist knows a thing or two about styles making fights—and more importantly, breaking them. In a recent Instagram clip, the 52-year-old, who is promoting the undefeated knockout artist William Zepeda, shared a pointed take on how this bout might unfold.

“So here’s my expert opinion on Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda—Saturday night, Ring Magazine event. It’s gonna be incredible. New York,” began De La Hoya, setting the stage before diving into his comparison. “Shakur Stevenson. What type of fighter is he?” he asked rhetorically, before explaining. “Exactly like Floyd Mayweather, okay. He knows how to box. Beautiful footwork. Stands up straight, shoulder roll—all that good stuff, right? Has a beautiful jab, right? Pop—shots you with the right hand.”

But then came the twist. De La Hoya invoked a rarely mentioned contention to Floyd Mayweather’s perfect record. “Well, guess what? Floyd Mayweather lost against Jose Luis Castillo, which reminds me of William Zepeda, okay, but throws more punches.” Here, De La Hoya is referring to the controversial April 2002 lightweight bout between Mayweather and Castillo that many to this day believe the Mexican had won. But the result awarded the win to Floyd Mayweather via unanimous decision. The backlash from what many referred to as “robbery” was so big that Mayweather had to give Jose Luis Castillo a rematch the same year, something he rarely did in his long career.

Though Floyd won the rematch too, De La Hoya believes that with Zepeda’s volume, he can easily outfight Shakur Stevenson. “Floyd had brittle hands. Shakur has brittle hands,” he claimed, before dissecting how that could trouble the defensive wizardry of Stevenson.

De La Hoya continued, “If William Zepeda keeps coming forward, throws punches, is very careful, side-to-side movements with his head, keeps throwing that jab—because this shell (imitates Mayweather’s boxing stance) cannot block a jab to save your life—throw to the body, throw to the chest, pin them in the corner, and just keep throwing punches in bunches.”

He concluded with an unfiltered prediction: “William Zepeda has probably the best output in boxing. So I got William Zepeda by decision, or even a stoppage against Shakur Stevenson. And I love Shakur Stevenson, he’s a great guy. But William’s my guy.”

However, if you ask the undefeated champion from Newark, he’s not just showing up to win—he’s showing up to shut everyone up.

Shakur Stevenson vows to silence doubters with statement win over William Zepeda

Shakur Stevenson has heard the whispers—those quiet murmurs suggesting his best days might already be behind him. “I have a chip on my shoulder. I have something to prove,” Stevenson told DAZN’s On The Grounds series. “A lot of people are sleeping on me and don’t think I am that guy that I have been my entire career. July 12 is going to be a statement.” Now 23-0 with 11 knockouts, the WBC lightweight champ is promising a night that vaults him into pound-for-pound contention—a goal he believes is within reach if he dismantles the dangerous Zepeda, whose 33-0 record includes 27 knockouts.

But Stevenson knows this fight is nothing like his previous wins over Oscar Valdez or Robson Conceicao. Zepeda, the hard-charging Mexican southpaw, is a volume machine who forces opponents to survive a storm. “I haven’t fought a style like Zepeda’s since the amateurs,” Stevenson admitted. “The thing with guys like Zepeda is that you have to beat their a**. If you don’t beat their a**, they are going to jump on you and stay on top of you the entire time. You have to go out there and get their respect.”

Coming off a sharp ninth-round TKO win over Josh Padley, Stevenson insists his hands—and his hunger—are back in full force. While critics compare this to his clinical outclassing of Valdez, the Olympic silver medalist is quick to caution: “Valdez is a pressure fighter who loads up looking for big shots but his output is not like Zepeda’s. Zepeda is a non-stop puncher.” And in a sport where legacies shift with one spectacular night, Stevenson knows what’s at stake. “It takes one night for everyone to think differently of you,” he said. “We’re going to shine.”

It seems Shakur Stevenson is confident that he won’t just win. He’ll put on the definitive performance that shuts up his critics. A decisive win over Zepeda should do it. Now, it remains to be seen who comes out on top Saturday night. Who do you think?