Shakur Stevenson and David Morrell Face "Crossroad Fights" This Saturday in Queens
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 09 Jul 2025
This upcoming Saturday in Queens, New York, three-weight division world champion and current WBC Lightweight (135 lbs) champion Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) faces mandatory challenger William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) in a highly anticipated 12-round championship match for Shakur’s WBC title. Also on the card is former WBA Super Middleweight and former WBA Light Heavyweight champion David Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs), who takes on Imam Khataev (10-0, 9 KOs). Both of these bouts are quintessential "Crossroads Fights" for Stevenson and Morrell.
What exactly defines a "Crossroads Fight" in boxing? It's a pivotal contest that can dramatically dictate the future trajectory of a fighter’s career. A win might propel them towards "Big Fights" on the grand stage, potentially leading to highly anticipated Pay-Per-View (PPV) extravaganzas in Las Vegas with guaranteed multi-million dollar paydays. Conversely, a loss could relegate them to fighting on other fighters' undercards at less prominent venues with significantly reduced pay, or even transform them into a "gatekeeper" — someone who tests "up-and-coming" fighters attempting to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
Let's first delve into Shakur Stevenson. There is no doubt that Shakur is destined for the Boxing Hall of Fame when his career concludes. In a professional journey spanning eight years, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist has clinched world championships in the 126-pound featherweight, 130-pound super featherweight, and 135-pound lightweight divisions. However, Stevenson has faced some criticism for being more of a boxer than a puncher, and he has a history of a right-hand injury requiring surgery. Furthermore, with only 11 knockouts in 23 fights, his power numbers aren't what some expect from a pound-for-pound elite.
For the past few years, Shakur has been openly and vociferously calling out popular WBA Lightweight champion Gervonta "Tank" Davis (31-0-1, 28 KOs) for a "Big Fight," though his challenges have largely fallen on deaf ears. Interestingly, "Tank" and WBA Junior Lightweight (130 lbs) champion Lamont Roach fought to a controversial draw last March at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. While no official announcement has been made by Tank’s promoter, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), regarding "Tank" vs. Roach II, a rematch is heavily rumored to be scheduled next month at the T-Mobile Arena on August 16, 2025. Shakur has publicly stated his belief that Roach was the rightful winner of their first encounter and has even claimed that he and Roach have agreed to fight.
However, this is definitely premature because Shakur must first defeat William Zepeda, who, on paper, appears to be the toughest opponent Stevenson will have faced to date. Zepeda is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), headed by Oscar De La Hoya, and reports indicate that GBP has invested heavily in Zepeda's career. Zepeda will be no "walk in the park," as the expression goes. He is a legitimate threat who absolutely possesses the capability to pull off the upset and defeat Shakur. That's how genuinely good Zepeda is. If Shakur can defeat Zepeda, whether it be by a knockout or an impressively dominant decision, he will definitively show the boxing world that he truly deserves the "Tank" fight. This writer predicts that if a "Tank" vs. Shakur fight is signed, it will generate PPV numbers comparable to the highly successful Crawford vs. Spence bout, which reportedly sold 650,000-700,000 buys! Conversely, if Shakur loses, it will starkly illustrate that he isn’t ready for the "Tank" fight. It’s as simple as that.
Now, let's turn our attention to David Morrell. Morrell honed his skills as an amateur for Cuba, but like many talented Cuban boxers in the past, he defected to pursue the opportunities for financial gain and glory as a professional fighter. This decision proved prescient, as Cuba's ban on professional boxing was only lifted between 1962 and 2022. Morrell's choice to defect before the ban was lifted appears to have paid off handsomely for him. He has reportedly earned millions and has already captured two world titles in two different weight classes in only 12 professional fights.
Morrell was heavily favored by many to defeat the current undefeated WBC Light Heavyweight (175 lbs) champion David Benavidez last February, but he ultimately suffered a unanimous 12-round decision loss, relinquishing his WBA Light Heavyweight title in the process. Morrell is now openly campaigning for a rematch with Benavidez. If that isn’t immediately possible, there are other high-profile fights available at light heavyweight, such as challenging the winner of the highly anticipated Bivol vs. Beterbiev II unification bout. There's also the intriguing possibility that Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, should he defeat Terence Crawford in September, might once again move up to light heavyweight, making a fight with Morrell a distinct possibility. Who knows what grand plans may unfold?
However, for Morrell to remain in the conversation for any of these potential high-stakes matchups, he absolutely must defeat Imam Khataev. Khataev appears to be a tough Russian fighter, having won Bronze medals in both the 2020 Olympics and the Amateur World Championships in 2023. He is undoubtedly looking to make a significant name for himself as a professional at David Morrell's expense. The Khataev vs. Morrell bout on Saturday night promises to be an extremely interesting fight, a true clash of styles and ambitions.
Without a doubt, all the top fighters in the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions will be keenly observing the outcomes of these fights. Both Shakur Stevenson and David Morrell are undeniably at crucial crossroads regarding the future directions of their respective careers.
Boxing Notes
It was recently announced that former two division champion Devin Haney will move up and challenge WBO welterweight Champion Brian Norman for his title. It was also recently announced that IBF and WBA welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis will vacate his 147lbs titles and move up to the 154lbs division and face Vergil Ortiz whom he previously opted not to fight. This all sounds good to Boxing Fans. However when the official press conference is announced is when wfaces WBC/WBO jr middle weight champion Sebastian Fundora on the Pacquiao vs Barrios card this July 19 in rematch of a fight he lost by split decision largely due to a scalp laceration that obscured his vision by blood pouring into his eyes back in March 2024. Tszyu is 1-1 in his last two fights since he last fought Fundora. He lost by knockout to Backhram Murtazaliev and won by knockout against Joseph Spencer. Give Tszyu a lot of credit for asking for this rematch early into his comeback. This fight is a must win for both fighters especially Tszyu who was rumored to have some major 8 figure paydays lined up if he would have defeated Murtazaliev for his IBF 154lbs title belt. Let’s see what happens in the rematch…Former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence states he would return to the ring when he is ready. Reports are Spence is still in the gym and is close to the 154lbs weight limit. A good opponent for Spence is former 2x welterweight champion Keith Thurman. There was some talk a few years ago of that fight happening, but it fell through. With no clear opponent for either fighter now may be the right time for Spence vs Thurman to finally happen.
***Ralph Rimpell is a writer based out of New York and is a Boxing Correspondent for Philboxing.com. Ralph holds an undergraduate degree from City University of New York. He has been a Boxing Writer for over ten years having written for several top boxing websites on the World Wide Web. Before becoming a writer, Ralph's passion was for professional wrestling until he realized professional wrestling was entertainment and not a real sport. It was at that time the 1984 US Olympic team made up of future stars such as Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, etc. entered the professional ranks and signed with promotional outfit Main Events.It was also at that time a young exciting Heavyweight originally hailing from Brooklyn named Mike Tyson also turned professional and became the face of boxing. Young boxing fan Ralph just couldn't get enough of boxing as a large part of it was being broadcast on "free TV". As time went on, Ralph felt boxing writers were not being forthcoming with their boxing coverage, opinion pieces, interviews, etc. So Ralph decided to write an article and submitted it to a Boxing website thinking it would be deleted and ignored by the Editor. To Ralph's surprise his article was posted on their website and the readers embraced it. The rest is history.
"I thank God for the Internet because it has created opportunities for writers like myself who likely would not have been given an opportunity to write for print publications. I hope someday soon to expand my role in Boxing on different levels." -- Ralph Rimpell
Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.
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