Shakur Stevenson has been ordered to defend his WBC lightweight title against William Zepeda.
On Monday night, the WBC commenced a 30-day negotiation period for both parties to reach an agreement.
If a deal cannot be struck by May 6, then a purse bid will be ordered.
As Stevenson is the world champion, he will reportedly receive a 70/30 split of the pay pot.
Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh was said to have made an offer for the bout, but Stevenson deemed it unreasonable.
Taking to social media over the weekend, he wrote: “Turki promised me a number and now he’s going way back on that number that he promised me and sending his Towel boys to run me the info instead [of] telling me straight up what [he’s trying to] do.
“[I don’t bow] down to nobody, Mr. [Oscar] De La Hoya, now let’s negotiate.”
Relentless finisher William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) is the WBC interim champion and was previously ranked No.1 by all four major sanctioning bodies.
Zepeda and Stevenson were supposed to face each other on the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol II undercard on February 22.
However, Zepeda was forced to pull out of the fight after sustaining an injury to his left arm during a split decision win over Tevin Farmer in November 2024.
Zepeda rematched Farmer two weeks ago, beating him on points.
Now, he will get the opportunity to finally fight Stevenson, provided the money is right.
“What will be telling is the money,” Zepeda’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya told Boxing Scene on Monday.
“That’s all that Shakur cares about – his split.
“We want the fight. It’s just so ironic that we have it on the table [through Saudi Arabia] and he pulls out because the money is not right. It’s the most money he’s ever made.
“Show the world who you are instead of coming across as a duck.”
The 27-year-old picked up the WBC lightweight strap by beating Edwin De Los Santos in a vacant title fight.
He defended his green and gold belt against Artem Harutyunyan and then Josh Padley, after Floyd Schofield pulled out of their bout due to illness days before.
Stevenson previously unified the WBC and WBO titles at super featherweight and held the WBO featherweight belt for a short stint.
