NEW YORK — Shakur Stevenson strode confidently to center stage Tuesday at Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.

As the unbeaten WBC lightweight champion turned around to partake in an interview with The Ring's Wade Plemons, Stevenson directed a throat-slashing gesture at members of William Zepeda's team seated nearby. Stevenson's message meant more to him than mere gamesmanship four days before they'll fight for his 135-pound title as part of "Ring III" at Louis Armstrong Stadium in nearby Queens.

"I'm just letting them know I'm ready, I'm coming," Stevenson said. "This is my spot, my opportunity. And I can't wait to show the fans who I truly am."

This is indeed Stevenson's opportunity to silence skeptics who've demeaned him as a defensive fighter completely unconcerned about entertaining.

Stevenson and an array of experts expect Zepeda's pressure and reputation as a non-stop puncher to provide openings for a more offensive-minded Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) to counter the Mexican southpaw and pick him apart. DraftKings lists Stevenson as a 12-1 favorite to win.

"It's a lotta doubters, a lotta haters and people that think that I'm not who I say I am," Stevenson said. "Saturday night we gonna see if they right or they wrong and I promise you, they wrong."

Zepeda's power and volume punching could become problematic if he can cut off the ring regularly, but Stevenson seems certain he will toy with the WBC interim titlist. The three-division champion from Newark, New Jersey, laughed off Turki Alalshikh's recent references to "Tom & Jerry" fights, in which one fighter chases his opponent around the ring.

Stevenson also assured his detractors that this fight with his mandatory challenger won't at all resemble his uneventful, unanimous-decision victory over Dominican southpaw Edwin De Los Santos in November 2023.

Hand and shoulder injuries inhibited Stevenson during that boring bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Speculation persists about the condition of Stevenson's hands heading into this fight as well. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist nevertheless promised a spectacular performance against an opponent who has won 82 percent of his professional bouts by knockout (33-0, 27 KOs).

"If you call me Jerry, then I'm whuppin' Tom ass,” Stevenson said. "So, that's what I'm coming here for."

The DAZN Pay-Per-View show that will feature Stevenson-Zepeda and another 12-round bout between super middleweights Edgar Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) and Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) costs $59.99 to watch in the United States (5 p.m. ET) and £24.99 in the United Kingdom (10 p.m. BST).