Shakur Stevenson exercised extreme caution the last time he fought a southpaw with power.

The WBC lightweight champion has taken continuous criticism for failing to engage with Dominican contender Edwin De Los Santos for most of their 12-round, 135-pound title fight in November 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Stevenson defeated De Los Santos unanimously on points, but lost a lot of the momentum he built through four successive victories over Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceicao and Shuichiro Yoshino.

The three-division champion from Newark, New Jersey can reshape some opinions by taking a more aggressive approach against another strong southpaw, William Zepeda, on The Ring’s pay-per-view show July 12 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.

The 27-year-old Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) prefers a safer strategy, which could lead to a more tactical encounter, but Mexico's Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) will push the pace and rarely stops throwing punches.

Last fight: Dropped late replacement Josh Padley three times in the ninth round, all with body shots. Defeated England's Padley (16-1, 5 KOs) by ninth-round TKO on February 22 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Odds: A -1000 favorite over Zepeda (+550), according to DraftKings.

How does Stevenson win: It won't win over his critics, but the defensive-minded Stevenson should use his legs to neutralize Zepeda’s pressure. Zepeda naturally will try to cut off the ring in ways previous opponents failed to do against the elusive southpaw and make Stevenson stand in front of him. It's more likely that Zepeda will have difficulty connecting on a moving target and Stevenson will comfortably beat him on the scorecards.

What it means if he wins: As long as their fight doesn't devolve into a redundant defensive clinic, Stevenson should get credit for defeating one of the most dangerous opponents he has faced in eight years as a pro. The heavy-handed Zepeda has won 82 percent of his pro bouts by knockout, wears out opponents with his relentless aggression and volume punching, and hasn't lost a fight in 10 years.

What they're saying: "Shakur is arguably the closest thing to Floyd Mayweather, if not better – if not better. And that's how good he is." – Eric Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions, Zepeda's promoter.

TV/Stream: DAZN Pay-Per-View; $59.99 in the U.S. (6 p.m. ET); £24.99 in the UK (11 p.m. GMT).