119-109, 118-110, 118-110. A few frowned at the wide margin. Even so, hardly anyone questioned it. Shakur Stevenson won hands down. At the Ring III co-main, the Newark-born three-division champion frustrated and outboxed the menacing William Zepeda to secure what’s being touted as his most emphatic victory. While he retained his championship and strengthened his case for bigger showdowns, his marquee performance truly succeeded in silencing the skeptics who often criticized him for “running” around the ring. And if not harsh critiques, Stevenson was at the receiving end of some playful jabs as well.

Among those who didn’t shy away from good-natured teasing was none other than Turki Alalshikh. His ‘Tom and Jerry’ comment has already entered boxing lore. Then ahead of the bout, he bantered about a ‘shrinking ring’ for Shakur Stevenson, thus adding further intrigue. But Alalshikh’s tongue-in-cheek remarks underlined a strong message. He expected the fighters to stay put and exchange jabs instead of avoiding them. Saturday night was Stevenson’s answer to the critics. He’s more than capable of being a top-tier defensive fighter. To many, his boxing clinic resembled a prime Floyd Mayweather. So credit was finally due to Stevenson. And Alalshikh didn’t turn his back on this duty either.

“Very happy Shakur delivered a great fight,” Turki Alalshikh’s X post read. He acknowledged. Shakur Stevenson exceeded the expectations. So the Riyadh Season head added, “Shakur gave the fans what they wanted to see, and he’s now more respected than ever.”

While Stevenson delivered an outstanding performance, William Zepeda deserved just as much praise for bringing the best out of him. So Alalshikh appreciated the brave Mexican’s contribution as well. “And respect to Zepeda. He has a bright future and proved he’s a dangerous fighter. 🥊⭐️🔥”

Earlier, Alalshikh had warned, “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.“ Then, just days ahead of the match, another message followed: “We have a surprise for @ShakurStevenson on Saturday, a ring that shrinks as the fight goes on.” So for a few fans it may take some time before his latest recognition sinks in.

But fans should understand. While he’s all business when it comes to boxing, Turki Alalshikh clearly enjoys the lighter side of the sport as well. Check out his matchup suggestion for Mike Coppinger-Ariel Helwani.

Shakur Stevenson is carving his road to greatness

“True greatness in Shakur Stevenson defending his WBC world championship against a very tough William Zepeda, a three-division world champion, 28 years of age. That’s the kind of opposition that will show you just how great you are, and I believe tonight was an absolute honor to sit just a few yards away from watching this man at work.” At the post-fight press conference, when Eddie Hearn spoke, hardly anyone disagreed.

To many fans it’s hard to imagine. Despite winning consecutive matches, Shakur Stevenson had to deal with incessant disapproval. Some believe the clash for the vacant WBC lightweight title, against Edwin De Los Santos, fashioned a partisan narrative about Stevenson.

Even his subsequent title defenses, the unanimous decision over Artem Harutyunyan, or even the ninth-round KO of Josh Padley failed to convince. However, the emphatic victory at the Louis Armstrong Stadium seems to have sealed the fate of this disparaging representation.

Now fans need to watch out as Shakur Stevenson takes his career to the next level. Who would you want Shakur Stevenson to fight next?