William Zepeda posted today on Instagram that he injured his left hand during his fight with Tevin Farmer on Saturday night and was advised by doctors to take “6 to 8 weeks of rest” to recover before returning to the gym.
That prejudice maintains the plaintiff no. 1 Zepeda on the shelf until the beginning of 2025. At that point, he and his promoters at Golden Boy can look for one of the lightweight champions to challenge him. With Zepeda’s ranking with the four sanctioning bodies, he has his choice of which champion to challenge.
Undefeated lightweight contender Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) had been considered the next challenger for the WBC 135-lb champion. Shakur Stevenson for February 22 in Riyadh. Unfortunately, it is not possible due to the injury.
Doctor’s orders
“After our last match (Tevin Farmer), we left with an injury to the left hand. We prepared to return to the gym soon, but for the medical evaluation, they recommend 6 to 8 weeks of rest for a better recovery. For we, it is important to have this small break to benefit our career; we know that in 2025, great opportunities have arrived, and we will be 100%. After this period of recovery, we want to return at the end of March,” said William Zepeda Instagram today
Shakur is upset about losing in the Zepeda fight, but good for him. Chances are high that he will lose to Zepeda, who, with his height 100+ punches per round outputis on another level than the low-out Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs). Zepeda is a throwback fighter from the 1980s, another one Aaron Pryor type of high-output fighters.
Pryor was more of a fist in the mold of Artur Beterbiev. Zepeda throws with power and never stops throwing, making him one of the most entertaining fighters in the sport and easily the most fun to watch in the 135 lb division.
Casual fans have never seen or heard of Pryor, but ultra-hardcore fans know about him, and he had a high work rate, just like Zepeda. Pryor’s fights against Alexis Arguello were legendary, and Zepeda fights the same way, but is more of a body puncher.
Title Shot Postponed
Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez confirmed Saturday night that Zepeda, 28, was injured and could not take the fight with Shakur. He says Zepeda still wants that fight, but he can’t take it now.
Shakur fans are upset that Zepeda suffered an injury, but that’s just the way it is. He fought Tevin Farmer last Saturday, and he threw a massive amount of punches, many of them connecting. When a fighter lands as many hard punches as Zepeda did in that fight, hand injuries happen.
Zepeda-Farmer Punch Statistics
– William Zepeda: 259 of 778 punches for a 33.3% connection rate.
– Tevin Farmer: 193 of 587 for 32.9%.
When Zepeda returns from his injury, he can look towards WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. His tentatively scheduled title defense against Lamont Roach Jr. it’s March 1st. If he is not moved again, Tank can move out of the way and then start negotiations for a fight with Zepeda.
