Shakur Stevenson continues to face challenges in luring William Zepeda into the ring. The pair have long been linked for a fight, but one thing or the other kept them separated. Earlier this year, ‘Sugar’ was supposed to square off against Zepeda, but the Mexican boxer revealed a hand injury and backed out of their bout. Stevenson instead ended up fighting last-minute replacement Josh Padley in February. Meanwhile, Zepeda came back for a rematch with Tevin Farmer and managed to edge out a win. Since then, the expectation was that Stevenson and Zepeda would fight for the full WBC belt. However, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh seems to have become a problem.

While Alalshikh has previously wanted to make the fight, one tweet from Zepeda’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, unraveled the issues unfolding in the background. “After all the s**t talking, @ShakurStevenson pulls out of Zepeda fight,” De La Hoya wrote on X. Stevenson, in response, laughed at the claims, revealing the reality of the situation.

“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. [I don’t bow] down to nobody, Mr. De La Hoya, now let’s negotiate,” Stevenson wrote back.

According to a report from Boxing Scene, Stevenson was offered $2 million less than what he was offered to fight Zepeda last year. ‘Sugar’ later commented on the matter, noting, “I want this fight so bad that these dudes want to take advantage of me by giving me way less than I got for Padley just because they know how bad I want it!”

Despite the alleged backtracking on Stevenson’s fight offer, the 27-year-old remains adamant about making the fight happen, especially after the WBC officially ordered it. “The fight is ordered by the WBC. I’m still champion and [not] pulling out of anything. If we can’t reach a deal, then purse bids it is. See you soon,” Stevenson wrote on X. 

Since the ordeal, Stevenson’s legendary trainer/maternal grandfather Wali Moses has criticized the surprising move from the Saudi Royal. 

Wali Moses highlights unfairness toward Shakur Stevenson

Following the incident, Moses appeared in an interview with Fight Hype, where he emphasized the importance of integrity. “This is a business, and the one thing that you always want to maintain is your integrity and your word. So if fighters are offered something and said they want to get something, they’re fighters so they’re going to fight,” he said.

Moses claimed fighters will always fight for what they want and deserve, noting, “You just don’t push fighters over like that. None of them [are] going to accept it, not nobody—real fighter who know their value.” Despite the ongoing issues, Moses believes the fight would happen according to the deal Stevenson and Alalshikh had reached originally. 

That said, Wali Moses doesn’t seem impressed by what he perceives as His Excellency Turki Alalshikh going back on his word to pay Shakur Stevenson a certain amount to fight William Zepeda. Regardless, the fight is now ordered by the WBC, so it would be interesting to see whether the fight happens or Zepeda will have to vacate the title. Do you think the Saudis should pay Stevenson what they promised him?