LAS VEGAS –Placement as the top contender among three sanctioning bodies leaves William Zepeda with the title shot of his choosing.

The flame-throwing lightweight contender already has an idea on which direction he and his team will travel.

Mexico’s Zepeda (30-0, 26 knockouts) left the industry abuzz after his fourth round stoppage of England’s Maxi Hughes. Their DAZN main event this past Saturday from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas doubled as a WBA/IBF title eliminator.

The win left Zepeda as the number-one contenders with both of those organizations. He holds the same place with the WBC, whose title is held by Ring No. 4-rated Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs). It’s also whom the Mexican southpaw most craves.

“In a perfect world, I want Shakur next,” Zepeda told The Ring after Saturday’s big win. “I’m ready to answer that call.”

Stevenson is due to headline a July 6 Top Rank on ESPN show from his hometown of Newark, New Jersey. He remains without an opponent for the occasion and seems equally receptive to the matchup.

“A real killer right in front of me and I don’t any opponent lined up,” Stevenson posted on X. “#StevensonZepeda next let’s make it happen!!”

Zepeda, No. 5 at 135, pleaded as strong a case as he could make to land the assignment. Saturday was his third consecutive knockout. He has stopped eighteen of his past twenty opponents.

The 27-year-old southpaw from San Mateo Atenco was brutal in his beatdown of Hughes (26-7-2, 5 KOs), No. 9 at 135. Compubox credited Zepeda with landing 161-of-408 total punches (39.5%), including 56 to the body. That part of his attack proved too much for Hughes, whose corner called for the stoppage after four rounds.

Much of the pre-fight talk centered around a shot at another title for Saturday’s winner. Ukraine’s Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) will face George Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) for the vacant IBF title on May 12 in Perth, Australia. Lomachenko is No. 1 at 135, while Kambosos is No. 8. Both previously held The Ring lightweight championship.

Another expressed option both before and after the fight was with the WBA. Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs), No. 2 at 135 and No. 9 pound-for-pound, defends that belt versus Ring No. 6 Frank Martin (17-0, 12 KOs). Their bout is not yet announced, though likely to headline a June 15 PBC on Prime Pay-Per-View event.

The one that Zepeda mentally revisits over and over, however, is with Stevenson.

“We’re going to sit down as a team and discuss what’s next for me,” noted Zepeda But I really feel out of all the champions out there, my style and Shakur’s match up the best.

“He needs an opponent and July is perfect timing for me to return.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JakeNDaBox

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