Shakur Stevenson will defend his WBC lightweight title vs. William Zepeda on July 12 in New York, The Ring has learned.

The highly anticipated 135-pound title clash will be part of a Ring Magazine event that will celebrate the launch of a new television show called “Inside The Ring.”

Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 4 boxer at 135 pounds. The 27-year-old will make the third defense of his title, and he’ll do so just miles from his hometown of Newark, New Jersey. Stevenson is coming off a ninth-round TKO victory over Josh Padley (who replaced Floyd Schofield during fight week) in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The three-division champion and Olympic silver medalist will face arguably his toughest opponent yet.

“Camaron” Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) is a relentless body puncher who is rated No. 5 by The Ring at lightweight. The Mexican pressure fighter enters his first title shot on the heels of back-to-back wins over former champion Tevin Farmer.

Zepeda was surprisingly floored by Farmer in a split-decision victory in November in Riyadh. The 28-year-old defeated Farmer more soundly in the rematch last month (a majority-decision win) in Cancun, Mexico, but still endured some rocky moments.

The pair of victories over Farmer made it five consecutive fights against southpaws for Zepeda. Stevenson, of course, is a slick southpaw regarded as one of the toughest fighters in boxing to land cleanly on.