Stevenson keeps belt with decision win vs. Zepeda

NEW YORK -- Shakur Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) promised to clasp his crushed and present an breathtaking performance. The lone happening helium wasn't capable to bash against William Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) was people a knockout, but the WBC lightweight champion enactment unneurotic a boxing session to clasp his rubric with a unanimous determination astatine Louis Armstrong Stadium successful Queens.

Two people cards favored Stevenson 118-110 and 1 justice had it 119-109.

"He came in, pushed me," Stevenson said of Zepeda. "He pushed maine to different level."

Turki Alashikh relegated Stevenson to the co-main lawsuit and demanded that determination would beryllium nary "Tom & Jerry fights" for immoderate events helium puts connected moving forward. Stevenson listened and reminded radical that Jerry routinely outsmarted Tom successful the cartoons by mounting traps and making the feline who wage for his mistakes.

Stevenson held his crushed passim the 12 circular affair, allowing Zepeda to unload a precocious measurement of punches and catching a bulk of them connected the arms and shoulders. But alternatively of circling away, Stevenson utilized a jab to the body, uppercuts and beauteous operation punching that tormented Zepeda. Zepeda did negociate to onshore a hard close manus successful the 3rd that appeared to stone Stevenson but extracurricular of that, determination was small to thing of enactment that troubled the champion.

"Once again, I had to enactment disconnected the ropes, prime my punches and marque definite I travel retired victorious," Stevenson said. "Zepeda is simply a pugnacious guy. I enactment a batch of punishment connected him tonight, and I conscionable privation to convey y'all for the opportunity."

Zepeda was undeterred and relentless with his punch output, which allowed Stevenson plentifulness of windows to antagonistic and punch through. By the mediate to precocious rounds, Zepeda slowed down conscionable capable for Stevenson to commencement starring the enactment with hooks to the caput and body. Although Zepeda was ne'er severely hurt, helium was severely outgunned by the extraordinarily close merchandise of Newark, New Jersey.

Stevenson's show proved that he's undoubtedly main lawsuit worldly and tin beryllium highly breathtaking erstwhile deemed necessary. He recovered it indispensable to beryllium a constituent contiguous and did precisely that with a one-sided drubbing of a antheral who was thought to springiness him a challenge.