Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh, and founder of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, agreed in a joint interview with DAZN to organize the fights between Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) and Vergil Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) and William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) and Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) as part of one event.
– We want to organize big fights. If Vergil Ortiz wins [against Serhii Bohachuk], we'll make the fight with Crawford next, said Oscar.
– Yes, I will make Crawford a big offer to make it happen. And not just that, we want to see a fight between Shakur and Zepeda, responded Turki.
– Yes. William Zepeda against Shakur Stevenson on the same card. Let's do it!
On August 3, Terence Crawford moved up to super welterweight (up to 69.9 kg) and defeated Israil Madrimov, becoming the interim WBO champion.
On the night of August 11, Vergil Ortiz defeated Serhii Bohachuk and claimed the interim WBC super welterweight title.
On July 6, William Zepeda defeated Giovanni Cabrera, while WBC lightweight (up to 61.2 kg) world champion Shakur Stevenson beat Artem Harutyunyan.