WBC Orders Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda, Oscar De La Hoya Noncommittal

The World Boxing Council (WBC) has officially ordered its lightweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, to defend his title against mandatory challenger William Zepeda. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced the decision on X (formerly known as Twitter), stating, “The WBC has ordered the mandatory title defense of our lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda. Very much looking forward to this great match.”

Shakur Stevenson, who has held the WBC lightweight title since November 2023, faces a challenging opponent in Zepeda. However, the fight’s future remains uncertain due to comments from Zepeda’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya appeared dismissive of the WBC’s mandate, emphasizing Zepeda’s status and options within the boxing world. “Check this out. William Zepeda is so badass, he has four sanctioning bodies to choose from. Nobody will tell him who he must fight next,” De La Hoya remarked.

Zepeda is ranked as the number one contender across all four major sanctioning body rankings, giving him significant leverage in choosing his next opponent. De La Hoya has previously indicated that Zepeda would only consider fighting Stevenson if Stevenson signed with Golden Boy Promotions, the promotional company De La Hoya runs.

This development further complicates the situation for Stevenson, who has experienced difficulty securing high-profile fights. He’s had fights rejected by Vasyl Lomachenko, Frank Martin, Isaac Cruz and previously Zepeda. Stevenson himself turned down a fight with Raymond Muratalla. Stevenson, currently a promotional free agent, turned down a reported five-fight, $15 million deal to re-sign with his now former promoter, Top Rank Boxing.

Boxing fans have been clamoring to see Shakur Stevenson fight someone worth a damn. It remains to be seen whether this much-anticipated bout will come to fruition.