Golden Boy boss, Oscar De La Hoya, says he expects WBC interim lightweight champion William Zepeda to be in a higher gear to score a knockout against the “gatekeeper” Tevin Farmer in their 12-round rematch on March 29th in Cancun, Mexico. The event will be shown live on DAZN.

Farmer’s “Tricks”

Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) beat Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) by a ten round split decision on November 16th on Latino Night in Riyadh. The fight was close enough for a rematch demand to be made by the fans, but it was one of those matches that would have been a one-sided one if a different set of judges were assigned.

Zepeda dominated with his body shots, but the judges were dialed in on headshots only. That’s where Farmer had the advantage. The original idea was to use Farmer to help Zepeda prepare for a title shot against the tricky WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, but given how closely the contest was scored, it made a rematch necessary.

If Zepeda struggles in this fight, he needs to take a different course to the WBA or IBF belt. Going after a slick boxer who is only interested in tapping and running is not a good style for Zepeda. He likes to throw hard punches in volume, and he can’t do that against fighters who use the hit-and-run style that Shakur employs.

Zepeda will be better prepared for the rematch with Farmer to deal with his slick style, and will likely knock him out. From there, Shakur is the fight to make. He’s a less powerful version of Farmer and Giovanni Cabrera.

“I thought the first fight was terrific. Late Nights in Riyadh was incredible, the whole card top to bottom,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Golden Boy about the first contest between WBC interim lightweight champion William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer on November 16th last year.

Zepeda-Farmer was entertaining last November, especially in the championship rounds when Zepeda really started putting it on Farmer. That was interesting to watch. If it had been a 12-rounder, Zepeda likely would have knocked Farmer out because he looked exhausted from all the body shots he’d hit him with the entire fight.

Zepeda’s Progression 

“William Zepeda, we’re getting him ready to fight the unifications, the world titles, and Tevin Farmer is a fighter, who is tricky, a gate keeper, who will test you and take you to the limits,” said De La Hoya. “That’s exactly what he did against Zepeda in Riyadh. So, it calls for a rematch.

“I thought that Farmer’s style with Zepeda was a perfect fight. It’s going to be a great fight again, but I’m looking for William Zepeda to step it up and possibly knock out Tevin Farmer. It’s not easy. Farmer is a mechanic up there in the ring.

“He’s a fighter who knows how to figure you out. He’s a fighter that doesn’t give up. So, I’m looking for this rematch to be one of those wars, one of those fights of the year,” said De La Hoya.