‘He should be a superstar’: Hearn compares Shakur to Mayweather, Leonard

Eddie Hearn says Shakur Stevenson should be a superstar in all of sports, not just boxing.

Eddie Hearn says that Shakur Stevenson shouldn’t just be a bigger star in boxing, but in the entire American sports world, and that when he faces William Zepeda on July 12, he’ll have an opponent capable of showing everyone how great Stevenson truly is.

“If he was from the UK, he would be what we call a national treasure,” Hearn said. “He would be a superstar. And he should be not just a superstar in boxing, but a superstar of American sport. He’s 27 years of age, he’s a three-division world champion, and he’s never broken a sweat.

“Eric Gomez said it right, comparing him to Floyd Mayweather. I also put him with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker — all of the greats. This is how good this man is. But for greatness, you need a great opponent, and that is William Zepeda. This is the fight where Shakur Stevenson will show everybody how great and special he is.”

Stevenson (23-0, 11 KO) has indeed won titles at 126, 130, and 135 lbs, and has on some nights shown a true dominant skill set.

But on too many others, Stevenson has walked away with clear and solid wins that received major criticism anyway, just because the entertainment value was so sorely lacking, with Shakur perceived as too cautious against opponents like Edwin De Los Santos, Artem Harutyunyan, and Robson Conceicao.

Zepeda (33-0, 27 KO) is certainly a guy who likes to come forward and throw punches, and a big part of the hope for the fight is what Hearn states, that even if Stevenson is once again too good for an opponent, he’ll be forced to show it in flashier fashion against an action-minded guy like Zepeda.

Zepeda, 28, is coming off of back-to-back, hard-earned wins over the crafty Tevin Farmer, who was meant to prepare him as much as possible for someone with Stevenson’s style. Stevenson last fought in February, stopping late notice opponent Josh Padley in the ninth round, after which he showed a lot of respect for Padley stepping up for the fight and showing what skills he had.