Tim Bradley thinks highly ranked lightweight contender William Zepeda could lose to Tevin Farmer next month in their ten-round fight on “Latino Night” on November 16 at The Venue in Riyadh.
The 34-year-old farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) is a wily former IBF super featherweight champion coming off a competitive ten-round unanimous decision loss to Raymond Muratalla on July 13 in Paradise, Nevada.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is expected to be next for Zepeda if he is victorious against Farmer and looks good to do so. If he loses, then that fight is off the table.
Zepeda has looked impressive recently, scoring knockouts against these fighters:
– John Cabrera
– Maxi Hughes
– Thank you Gesta
– Jaime Arboleda
I’d like Hughes and Cabrera over Farmer. Those guys will be a big problem for him in his career. Commentator Bradley believes that Farmer has enough at this point in his 13-year career to defeat Zepeda (31-0, 27 KO). I do not agree with this.
This will be another demolition job for Zepeda who could be finished by the fourth unless Farmer moves non-stop. That’s not how Farmer fights.
This would be a big blow to Zepeda’s career, promoted by Golden Boy, because he is ranked #1 by all four sanctioning bodies in the lightweight division and ready to challenge WBC champion Shakur Stevenson next February.
“If Zepeda can scare Farmer, it’s a super statement because I don’t think Farmer just shows up for a payday. Farmer always shows up to win. It’s how he’s built and the character he has. He’s not spineless, and when he shows up in the ring, he shows up to win,” said Paulie Malignaggi to Probox TVtalking about William Zepeda’s fight against Tevin Farmer on November 16th “Latino Night” in Riyadh.
Before Farmer’s loss against the highly hyped Raymond Muratalla last July, he had won three consecutive victories since losing to Joseph Diaz in 2020. Farmer is still in his first place. But his problem is that he is fighting out of his natural weight class and against a big puncher in Zepeda.
“I like this fight because it can show us any flaws in Zepeda’s style. Yes, he’s a two-fisted destroyer, but can he be more against a guy with the cunning and character of Tevin Farmer? That’s why he’s fight is really interesting”, said Malignaggi.
Farmer will make Zepeda look bad at times in the beginning, but once he warms up in the third, that will end soon after. The farmer will not be able to take the blows that Zepeda heats him without falling.
“Expect Zepeda to win because Farmer is on the other side of his prime,” Malignaggi said. “But don’t expect it to be a ride like Zepeda did for these other guys.
“If he’s able to throw through Farmer like he did against these other guys, then it makes a deeper statement. He’s got the door for a title shot. He’s mandatory in all four (sanctioning bodies ).So a title shot should be around the corner,” said Malignaggi about Zepeda.
“This could backfire. I know what Golden Boy is trying to do, but Farmer is difficult,” said Tim Bradley, who thinks Zepeda could lose. “This guy could win this fight. I can see.”
There is nothing Farmer has that will stop Zepeda from taking him down and cutting him apart in this fight early. Farmer is too weak to fight at lightweight against a puncher like Zepeda.
“Zepeda is the kind of shrimp (Mantis) that kills you. I saw it on one of the National Geographic specials,” Malignaggi said, referring to Zepeda’s nickname, “Camaron.” “Zepeda is one of these types of shrimp. It is a striker. I am not great in science, but there is a shrimp that is direct death (Mantis Shrimp). I am talking about a shrimp where you die. Zepeda is this type of shrimp.
Zepeda shouldn’t have any problems with the 34-year-old Farmer, but it will take a few rounds for him to warm up before he starts unloading on him with combinations.
