Regis Prograis On The Shakur Stevenson Puzzle: Only An Unpredictable, Power-Punching Style Can Breach His Defenses

Regis Prograis says the only way to beat Shakur Stevenson is to “just fight him in a street fight.” It won’t work to try to box Stevenson because he’s too skilled.

The former two-time light welterweight champion, Prograis, mentions how Ricardo Mayorga’s wild brawling style used to defeat the highly technical Vernon Forrest in two of their fights. Mayorga was nowhere near as skilled as Forrest, but just out-fought him, throwing punches from weird angles and with power to defeat him twice.

“Ugly Style” the Only Option

William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) is challenging Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) for his WBC lightweight title on July 12th in the co-feature spot at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. He may need to follow Prograis’ advice for him to have a shot at beating Shakur because his high-volume style might not work. Shakur moves too much and uses a hit-and-run approach. It’s not going to be easy for Zepeda to land.

“Who can try to outbox Shakur on this planet? I don’t think nobody right now. He’s too young [27]. For somebody like that, you’ve got to have an ugly style to just go beat him,” said Regis Prograis to YSM Sports Media about how to defeat Shakur Stevenson. Take a page out of the book of Mayorga when he fought Vernon Forrest.

Zepeda won’t try and box Shakur. He’s going to be attempting to overwhelm him with punches and forcing him to exchange. Stevenson says he’s coming to fight, but that’s not realistic. He’s just trying to throw Zepeda off to make him think he’s going to fight differently, but he’s going to be on his bike all night.

“When he beat him, Vernon Forrest was a good boxer. Mayoga was just wild and swung,” said Prograis. “I think with someone like Shakur, he’s been in the amateurs and was an Olympian. So, he saw all the styles. For someone like a street fighter, he’s not going to know what to expect. s*** is just coming from everywhere.”

Stevenson will be moving more than usual if he starts getting hit, because he’s not going to let Zepeda get his shots off. He knows he’s no match for the Mexican fighter in offensive ability. Although Shakur likes to brag that he’s the best fighter in the sport, he’s not an offensive talent. It’s all defense.

Mayorga’s Blueprint Against Skill

“So, I think with him, you got to fight him,” said Prograis. “You can’t outbox Shakur. He’s just really too good at being a boxer. You got to give him something he’s never seen before or something he’s really uncomfortable with, and just throw a lot of punches. Do like Maidana with Floyd. Like Mayorga with Forrest. You got to go out there and just fight his a**.”

Marcos Maidana was able to throw a lot of punches against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their first fight because he was stationary through the first half. But once Mayweather realized that he was no match for Maidana, he started moving and won a narrow decision. Shakur won’t stand and fight like Mayweather did because he’s not as good as Floyd offensively. He wouldn’t be able to make Zepeda pay.

“You might be so good that you’re expecting him to throw a punch a certain way, and they throw punches way different. This s*** is ugly, but it’s working, especially with someone with power. It’s ugly but ‘This mother f*** is hitting me hard,’” said Prograis.