Shakur Stevenson won't fight William Zepeda as planned. The lightweight champion says Sheikh Turki Alalshikh didn't keep his word about the money.
Oscar de la Hoya, the boxing promoter, shared the news on X. He said Stevenson pulled out of the fight against Zepeda.
Stevenson fired back at de la Hoya on X. He said it's not that simple.
Is that what they told you? Turki promised me a number and now he is going back on his promise and sending his Towel guys to give me the information instead of telling me directly what he is trying to do. I don't submit to anyone, Mr. De La Hoya! Now let's negotiate!
The fight was first set for February. But Zepeda hurt his hand, so they had to push it back.
Stevenson made it clear he still wants to fight Zepeda. He's sure he'll win when it happens.
I haven't finished negotiating because one thing is I'm the champion, so regardless of whether the fight with these people gets done or not, I'm going to stomp this guy, but the fight will get done!
Boxing often sees fights outside the ring to drum up interest and boost money for the actual fights. This back-and-forth between Stevenson and de la Hoya fits that pattern.
'Sugar' Stevenson wants to talk directly with Alalshikh about the money. He's not happy about getting messages through middlemen.
The champion is standing his ground. He wants the fight, but on his terms. With both sides talking tough, fans will have to wait and see if they can strike a deal.
