It will be a battle between a bull and a matador when the slick southpaw Shakur Stevenson and relentless puncher William Zepeda square off July 12 at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.

The duel will take place as part of the Ring III pay-per-view card on DAZN.

The WBC lightweight champion Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) is savoring the opportunity to shine against Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs), and he’s promising a sensational performance that will catapult him into the top 10 of the pound-for-pound list.

“I have a chip on my shoulder. I have something to prove,” Stevenson said on DAZN's "On The Grounds" series. “A lot of people are sleeping on me and don't think I am that guy that I have been my entire career. July 12 is going to be a statement.”

Stevenson has won titles at 126 and 130 pounds and beaten Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez, Robson Conceicao and Edwin De Los Santos, but none of the Newark, New Jersey, native’s previous encounters can be compared to what the hard-charging Zepeda will bring.

“I haven't fought a style like Zepeda's since the amateurs,” said Stevenson, a 2016 Olympic silver medal winner. “It makes it more interesting and fun for me just because it's something new and different. It sounds like a challenge. The thing with guys like Zepeda is that you have to beat their ass. If you don't beat their ass, they are going to jump on you and stay on top of you the entire time. You have to go out there and get their respect.

“A lot of people are saying that I am going to do to him exactly what I did to Valdez. They don't understand that it's two different styles. Valdez is a pressure fighter who loads up looking for big shots but his output is not like Zepeda's. Zepeda is a non-stop puncher.”

Stevenson is coming off a ninth-round TKO win against late-replacement opponent Josh Padley in February, a solid performance that proved his hands are healthy again.

Zepeda, meanwhile, went tooth-and-nail against Tevin Farmer in back-to-back fights. Farmer has since been blasted in one round by Floyd Schofield Jr., who was supposed to face Stevenson before he got sick and allowed Padley to step in.

After a series of ho-hum wins in recent years, Stevenson has a tremendous opportunity to rise to the occasion, especially with bigger plans on the horizon.

“It takes one night for everyone to think differently of you,” said Stevenson. “We're going to shine.”