WILLIAM Zepeda was last seen having more trouble than he bargained for against Tevin Farmer in Cancun on Saturday evening. It appeared that Zepeda had done enough to separate himself, but Farmer dug deep and forced the fight to a majority decision in the Mexican’s favour.
Zepeda needn’t have been surprised by Tevin’s gutsy display, given that the WBC Interim lightweight clash was a rematch of their previous meeting on Riyadh Season’s Latino Night last November. On that occasion, the savvy southpaw dropped Zepeda in round four and pushed all the way to a 10-round split decision loss.
With that WBC bauble strapped around his waist, Zepeda emerged from their latest fight with a 33-0 (27 KOs) record, seemingly in line for a swing at full WBC champion Shakur Stevenson. Quite how he’d fare with someone as cagey and difficult to pin down as Stevenson remains to be seen, after Zepeda’s struggles with an ageing Farmer.
It now appears that Golden Boy may take their man a different route. Zepeda has found a way from nowhere into the WBA rankings – at the number one spot. That puts him in line instead for a crack at Gervonta Davis rather than Shakur.
The move has not been well received on social media, with some accusing Zepeda of ducking Stevenson, preferring to put his unbeaten slate on the line and chance his all-action style against power-punching Davis.
Gervonta had previously been weighing up the reality of a rematch with Lamont Roach, who pushed him so close at the start of March. Stevenson, meanwhile, was last seen boxing Josh Padley and may next face Sam Noakes. Realistically, the fight many want to see is Stevenson and Davis fighting each other.
Zepeda’s next move will be an interesting indicator of how the 135-pound weight class shapes up over the coming months. Vasiliy Lomachenko currently holds the IBF world title. Keyshawn Davis is the WBO king.
