Will casual boxing fans ever love Shakur Stevenson?

At 28, connected the eve of his biggest fight, the ever-dimpled Shakur Stevenson nary longer qualifies arsenic a babyface, by quality oregon immoderate different measure. That's not to accidental he's grizzled. But for a feline who's 23-0 -- ne'er earnestly hurt, overmuch little challenged -- helium remains a singular root of consternation wrong the boxing business. Hence, 8 years into his pro career, Stevenson has travel to a realization: "What it truly boils down to is the information that casuals regularisation the athletics of boxing. And it is not conscionable casual fans. You got casual promoters. You got casual fighters. You got casual opinions."

Proof? Consider Stevenson's spot connected the paper this Saturday successful Louis Armstrong Stadium. The WBC lightweight champion (this is the 3rd value people successful which he's present held titles) volition beryllium matched against the organization's "interim" belt-holder, William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs). Zepeda is precisely the benignant of tough, undefeated fighters fans person agelong clamored for Stevenson to fight. But their bout is simply the co-main. Rather, the main lawsuit goes to Edgar Berlanga -- whose superior qualification seems to beryllium surviving 12 uneventful rounds successful a unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez -- and Hamzah Sheeraz, who is coming up to 168 pounds aft a disappointing gully with middleweight titlist Carlos Adames. While there's nary loop astatine stake, Berlanga-Sheeraz are seen arsenic amended trash talkers and much apt to supply a knockout. Still, nary 1 -- casual oregon different -- tin reason that they are better, much accomplished fighters than Zepeda and Stevenson.

While Stevenson has hardly mislaid rounds since turning pro successful 2017, the presumption against him -- that he's not entertaining (read: convulsive and charismatic) capable -- has lone grown. Most of it stems from his unanimous determination victory implicit Edwin De Los Santos for the vacant WBC loop astir 2 years ago. OK, they can't each beryllium gems similar Canelo-Berlanga. But it was dreadfully uneventful. Still, Stevenson has a antithetic take.

"When I spell backmost and ticker that fight," helium tells me, "I spot greatness."

You're waiting for the punchline? There is none. I watched him spar successful grooming campy for that fight, rounds erstwhile helium utilized lone his pb close hand. He played it off, saying helium was conscionable moving connected his jab. His squad denied immoderate origin for concern. And overmuch to my chagrin, I bought it -- until combat night. Stevenson made easy-snoozy enactment of the reputedly heavy-handed De Los Santos, and did it with conscionable 1 hand. Turned retired determination was a teardrop successful his near mediate knuckle, not to notation tears successful his near shoulder. No excuses, conscionable context.

"I spot a combatant who went successful determination 50 percent against a precise bully fighter," says Stevenson. "And inactive got the occupation done."

While the nighttime didn't triumph him immoderate fans, helium makes a perfectly tenable argument. Just the same, it neglects De Los Santos' work successful the equation. If De Los Santos is truthful large and atrocious -- and I'm not saying he's not -- however could helium hardly interaction a one-armed fighter? He, too, was a seasoned -- 14 knockouts successful 17 fights -- with a affluent amateur pedigree. Why couldn't helium chopped disconnected the ring? Why didn't he sellout?

Likely for the aforesaid crushed that Gervonta "Tank" Davis -- coming disconnected a acquisition determination against a acold lesser hostile -- talks a full batch much astir status than Stevenson, who nevertheless persists successful harboring the semi-delusional imagination that 1 time they'll conscionable successful the ring. They won't. By and large, fighters don't caput taking a beating. But they dread looking silly. Shakur Stevenson tin marque you look silly.

"But you cognize what's crazy?" helium asked, referencing the De Los Santos fight. "The fans said I ran. I moved astatine times" -- not for nothing, that's called boxing -- "but not the full fight. There was plentifulness of accidental for Edwin De Los Santos to ace maine oregon deed maine with shots helium was looking for. It conscionable didn't happen."

Because De Los Santos wouldn't -- oregon couldn't -- clasp up his extremity of the bargain. I've criticized Stevenson for throwing 1 punch astatine a time, for being excessively cautious and focusing connected defence astatine the disbursal of an attack. But penning him disconnected arsenic a runner is simply a casual misnomer -- arsenic is the conception that ringing size is the captious adaptable successful these matchups.

"I don't attraction however large oregon tiny the ringing is," Zepeda tells maine done his trainer-translator, Jay "Panda" Najar. "A bully unit combatant volition find a mode to chopped disconnected the ring, and a bully boxer volition find a mode to determination and get away. It's nary concealed that I propulsion a batch of punches and onslaught the body. I can't alteration that. ...But I'm the 1 who has to marque the difference. Shakur's IQ is conscionable incredible, but I'm the 1 who has to marque him think. He's an unthinkable fighter, but I'm the 1 who has to instrumentality him into heavy waters. I person to adjacent the gap. Me. I'm the one, William Zepeda."

Rare is the "B" broadside who refers to himself successful the archetypal person. But he's connected grounds vowing to judge the hazard and work that De Los Santos (among others) did not. In Zepeda's mind, it's each astir Zepeda. He understands helium indispensable use astute unit throughout, that helium can't let himself to get frustrated oregon discouraged, each of which helium claims to person learned successful his consecutive victories implicit southpaw Tevin Farmer.

More than that, though, Zepeda envisions himself the protagonist successful his ain epic. "It volition beryllium similar a Rocky movie," helium insists. "It volition beryllium a precise tough, pugnacious fight. But I can't permission it up to the judges. Not against Shakur successful New York."

Never caput that Stevenson hails from Newark, New Jersey -- oregon that helium has his ain expansive ambitions. Still, for each of Zepeda's speech of Zepeda, I can't assistance but wonder: wherever is his hostile vulnerable?

"The unit helium has connected him," says Zepeda. "There's going to beryllium a infinitesimal successful the combat wherever helium has to basal determination and combat with me. We privation to instrumentality vantage of that."

Explain.

"All the radical who accidental 'we privation to spot Shakur fight. We don't privation to spot him run.' He goes connected the net and answers everybody," says Zepeda. "That's the lone weakness I see."

The casuals, helium means.