William Zepeda will fight on March 29th in Cancun, Mexico, but not against Tevin Farmer in a rematch, as previously reported. The lightweight contender Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) is recovering from a hand injury and will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
The #1 ranked 135-lb contender Zepeda injured his left hand in his 10-round split decision win over Farmer during Turki Al-Sheikh’s Latino Night event in Riyadh on November 16th. William’s injury prevented him from challenging WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson for his title on the February 22nd card.
No Farmer Rematch
If Zepeda challenges Shakur in the summer, he needs an opponent to prepare him for his elusive style. Farmer isn’t suitable for that because he stays in the pocket and looks to have wars.
“I just asked, and they told me that Farmer would not be the March rival,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X about William Zepeda’s next fight in March. “Williamzepeda2, WBC interim champion, would be back on March 29 in Cancun.”
This news won’t make Farmer happy. He hoped to get a rematch with Zepeda and still believes he deserved a victory last November.
If Zepeda is going to fight Shakur in the summer, he’ll need someone with a similar style. It’s too bad Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela no longer fights at lightweight because he would be perfect. He needs a runner, but there aren’t too many in the lightweight division.
Indeed, Shakur is the only one, making it a problem for Zepeda to prepare for his style. It’s too bad Stevenson holds a title because it would be easier for Zepeda to prepare for regular fighters.
Andy Cruz would be good, but it would be risky for Zepeda to fight him because he is arguably more talented than Shakur and has much better offensive skills. Fighting Cruz would be tough for Zepeda because he would have to worry about his offense as well as his defense.
Zepeda would be better off targeting Gervonta Davis for his WBA lightweight title than challenging Shakur. There’s more money in a fight against Tank, and he would be willing to engage.