NEW YORK — If Oscar De La Hoya could’ve chosen an opponent for William Zepeda, Eddie Hearn suspects the promoter would’ve picked anyone other than Shakur Stevenson.

Zepeda pressed for this difficult fight to be made, however, because the Mexican southpaw wants to prove himself against one of the most skillful fighters in boxing. As the WBC’s interim lightweight champion and Stevenson’s mandatory challenger, Zepeda, 28, didn’t want to waste any more time pursuing lesser challenges.

Hearn, whose company promotes Stevenson, also knows Turki Alalshikh made it well worthwhile financially for Zepeda and Golden Boy Promotions to risk his unblemished record versus Stevenson on The Ring’s pay-per-view card July 12 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens.

“You look at Tevin Farmer and you kinda feel like Shakur is a super-charged Tevin Farmer,” Hearn told The Ring in reference to the southpaw Zepeda defeated on points in each of his previous two bouts. “That’s in terms of ability, movement, sometimes a little bit of not necessarily awkwardness. But I feel like that’s a style that Zepeda’s always gonna struggle against.

“And I think Oscar, who knows boxing inside out, never really fancied the Shakur Stevenson fight. I don’t think a lotta people do. But obviously the money made sense through this Ring magazine event and they’re rolling the dice. Although it’s a very tough, dangerous fight, I also feel like it’s a fight that will suit Shakur Stevenson very well.”

Stevenson, 27, needs an impressive, entertaining performance as much as Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) needs to beat someone of the three-division champion’s caliber. A frequent target of frustrated fans and skeptical experts, Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) assured anyone who would listen before, during and after a recent press conference at Palladium Times Square that he will defeat Zepeda easily.

Like Hearn, Stevenson believes Zepeda, while dangerous, possesses a suitable style that will help him accomplish what the Newark, New Jersey native wants to do on this big stage.

Their shared viewpoint is why Hearn thinks De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez would have just as soon matched Zepeda with less complicated opponents in main events on DAZN.

“When you look at it, your focus is to have headline fighters for your broadcaster,” Hearn said. “And Zepeda is one of those headline fighters, so you never really wanna see him get beat, especially when they’re going into a fight as a big underdog. And I think without Ring Magazine and without His Excellency [Alalshikh], I’m not sure this fight would’ve happened. Because I don’t think the money would’ve been there to convince Oscar and those guys to take the risk.

“They could become a mandatory for another governing body, they can keep headlining in California or Mexico. They’re not short of opportunities. So, they’ve obviously looked at this as maybe a little bit of inactivity from Shakur, the hand operation. I think you can end up talking yourself into maybe having a great chance in a fight.”

Stevenson, The Ring’s No. 3 lightweight contender, is an 11-1 favorite to beat Zepeda, according to DraftKings. Zepeda is The Ring’s fourth-rated contender in the 135-pound division.