William Zepeda says that beating WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on the 12th will "open doors" for him. Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) thinks that his body shots and volume punching will be too much for Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) to handle in their 12-round main event fight on DAZN PPV at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. Shakur hasn't fought anyone with Zepeda's offensive skills yet, and since moving up to the 135-pound division in 2023, he's had a lot of hand injuries. Because of this, he can't use the little power he has because of his chronic hand problems. Alalshikh Calls for Action Fight Turki Alalshikh wants the July 12th event to be full of action, but Shakur will lose if he doesn't run away from Zepeda. He isn't ready for the kind of fight that the Mexican knockout artist will bring. If he stands his ground and fights like a dog, he'll be chewed up in six rounds. Steding Stevenson to the amateur system is wrong because he can't fight like Zepeda does. "I've been waiting for this fight for years, and it's finally happening at a good time." The fight is going to be very hard. If I beat Shakur, I'll have more chances. William Zepeda told DAZN Boxing that his fight with Shakur Stevenson could lead to bigger fights. This week, Turki Alalshikh said he wants to put Sepeda up against Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz in November on a full card. That probably means that Zepeda beats Shakur on July 12th and becomes the new WBC lightweight champion. Stevenson will talk incessantly if he loses to Zepeda and implore Turki to set up a rematch right once. Eddie Hearn, his promoter, will also push for the second fight, and he wouldn't be worth anything to him if he didn't get revenge for the loss. Hearn signed Shakur in part so that he could get him into the big fight with Gervonta Davis. Zepeda's plan for volume punching "Clearly, Shakur is the hardest opponent I've ever faced. We know what makes him great. All of his technical skills, footwork, and experience. Zepeda said, "I think my volume punching and body work are the most important things that will help me." I don't think Shakur is Zepeda's "toughest opponent." Tevin Farmer was much tougher. During parts of both of their fights, he stood in the pocket and fought Zepeda. Farmer had to move and hold on to stay in the fight, but he still traded a lot. Stevenson could never fight like Farmer did without getting stopped.