Shakur Stevenson stepped into his fight against William Zepeda, seeking to change the narrative around his career. A palette cleanse was necessary following a series of ho-hum victories in recent years.

The slick southpaw and defensively oriented Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) shifted public perception in spades Saturday night during the Ring III card in New York against the hard-charging Zepeda by scoring an entertaining 12-round unanimous decision victory.

Although Stevenson said he got hit too much for his liking, the performance drew rave reviews from fans to key figures in the fight game alike as he separated himself in the second half of the fight to defend his WBC lightweight title for a third time.

"In my opinion, Shakur Stevenson looked the best he ever looked in his last fight," Mike Tyson wrote on social media.

"Those masterful combinations and head movements. He's still young doing that and he looked superb. And everybody wants him to show people he can take a punch, but the art is hit and not get hit. That's boxing and that was the best fighter he ever fought. The fight was tough and he beat him with no problem. In the middle of the ring, he was beautiful. I just don't like when he gets on the ropes for too long."

The three-division titleholder Stevenson took Iron Mike's advice in stride.

"Thank you legend, I appreciate you for that. I will go back to the drawing board and correct that mistake," Stevenson replied.

After completing a two-fight deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing, Stevenson is now a promotional free agent again. Having beaten his mandatory challenger and former interim titlist Zepeda, the 28-year-old New Jersey native again called for a Gervonta Davis clash.