NEW YORK – His opponent’s promoter suggested Shakur Stevenson might even be better than Floyd Mayweather.

Stevenson’s own promoter compared him to two other legends, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and the late Pernell Whitaker. The elite lightweight’s talent is evident, but the unbeaten WBC champion’s performances haven’t always entertained fans because many blood-thirsty followers of boxing don’t appreciate his defensive approach and technical skill.

Eddie Hearn is confident Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) will have the opportunity to satisfy even his harshest critics when he makes a mandated defense of his WBC belt against William Zepeda on July 12 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens. Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs), a strong southpaw from Mexico, is an aggressive volume puncher who will try to force the elusive Stevenson to fight on the inside with him.

Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing, hopes Stevenson’s showing on The Ring’s next pay-per-view card, “Ring III,” will enhance Stevenson’s standing not only in boxing, but on a crowded professional sports landscape in the United States. He spoke during a press conference Thursday at Palladium Times Square of how he feels the three-division champion from Newark, New Jersey is underappreciated in his home country.

“I have to say, you know, the team – Josh Dubin, James Prince – done an incredible job,” Hearn said of Stevenson’s managerial team. “But people always ask me, coming over from the UK, what’s the difference you notice about boxing in America? The man to my left, if he was from the UK, he would be what we call a national treasure. He would be a superstar. And he should be not just a superstar of boxing, but a superstar of American sport. He’s 27 years of age. He’s a three-division world champion. And he's never broken [a] sweat.”

His doubters denounced Stevenson for the skilled southpaw’s cautious strategy in a unanimous-decision defeat of Dominican southpaw Edwin De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) in November 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Stevenson engaged more regularly during his first defense of a WBC belt he won by beating De Los Santos, yet footage of fans leaving Prudential Center in his hometown of Newark during the later rounds of his easy points victory over Germany’s Artem Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) last July 6 left Stevenson to defend that wide win as well.

The 2016 Olympic silver medalist dominated Josh Padley (16-1, 9 KOs), a late replacement for Floyd Schofield Jr. (18-1, 12 KOs), on his way to a ninth-round stoppage in Stevenson’s last fight February 22 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Zepeda, 28, is fourth among The Ring’s lightweight contenders for a 135-pound championship that is vacant.

Stevenson, who will turn 28 next month, once occupied a spot on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. He is no longer on it, but Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez and Hearn spoke as if Stevenson deserves a position toward the top of it.

“Eric Gomez said it right about comparing him to Floyd Mayweather,” Hearn said. “I also put him with the likes of ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker, all of the greats. This is how good this man is. But for greatness, you need a great opponent. And that is William Zepeda. And this is the fight where Shakur Stevenson will show everybody how great and special he is. I think you’re talking about pound-for-pound number one greatness from this man.”