Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda have finally found common ground.

Their oft-ordered matchup is finally a reality, as BoxingScene has confirmed a deal was reached for their WBC lightweight title consolidation bout.

A venue was not specified, but the two will meet atop a Ring Magazine show July 12 in New York City, as earlier reported by the publication and also confirmed by Zepeda’s side.

“Zepeda vs Shakur is on,” exclaimed Oscar De La Hoya, the Hall of Fame former six-division titlist whose Golden Boy Promotions represents Zepeda.

While further details were not yet revealed, BoxingScene has learned that one discussed undercard slot could feature unified strawweight champion Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs).

Stevenson, 23-0 (11 KOs), a 2016 Olympic Silver medalist and three-division titlist from Newark, New Jersey, will attempt the third defense of WBC lightweight crown.

Mexico’s Zepeda, 33-0 (27 KOs), holds the interim version of the belt and will enter his first major title fight. 

The attractive battle between unbeaten southpaws was ordered on April 7, with a 30-day negotiation period assigned to reach terms. The ordered bout came just two days after Stevenson had disparaging remarks on the financial terms, in a social media post directed at Turki Alalshikh – who will finance the July 12 show. 

“Turki promised me a number and now he’s going way back on that number that he promised me and sending his Towel boys to run me the info instead [of] telling me straight up what [he’s trying to] do,” Stevenson said in an April 5 post on X. [I don’t bow] down to nobody.”

Bow down he did, though for the greater good.

“Excited about my next fight it was a misunderstanding between Turki and the team,” Stevenson posted on Wednesday. “My apologies on my part for [overreacting]. Let’s work @Turki_alalshikh.”

Stevenson, 27, claimed the WBC lightweight strap in a November 2023 decision win over Edwin De Los Santos. He then outpointed Artem Harutyunyan last July 6 in his Newark hometown on the same night that Zepeda, 28, stopped Giovanni Cabrera in a separate show in Las Vegas. 

The mandatory title fight was ordered just nine days later and was due to head to an August 20 purse bid if a deal was not reached.

The fighters instead went in different directions.

Stevenson signed with Matchroom Boxing and was due to defend his belt against former 130lbs titlist Joe Cordina last October 12 on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol I undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A hand injury forced Stevenson off the show and left him idle for the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, Zepeda went on to face Tevin Farmer and was given the toughest test of his career last November 16, also in Riyadh. The high-volume puncher was dropped in the fifth round by Farmer, a former junior lightweight titleholder, and was considered fortunate to eke out a split decision victory.

Zepeda earned a repeat win over Farmer, this time via majority decision, to win the interim WBC belt on March 29 in Cancun, Mexico. The fight came in lieu of an offered opportunity to face Stevenson on the February 22 undercard of the Bivol-Beterbiev rematch in Riyadh.

Stevenson instead moved forward with a voluntary title defense against Floyd Schofield Jnr, who fell ill during fight week and was forced to withdraw. He was replaced on short notice by Josh Padley, whom Stevenson bested via ninth-round knockout.

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.