Interim WBC lightweight champion William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer are finalizing negotiations for a rematch on March 29 in Cancun, Mexico.
Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) was given a rematch after losing to Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) via a 10-round split decision on Nov. 16 in Riyadh on the Latino Night card.
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Tevin bitterly lamented afterwards that he should have been given the decision. It didn’t seem like it, but it’s understandable why he would be unhappy. Now, he gets another payday, but his chances of winning the rematch are non-existent.
The scores
95-94 – Zepeda
95-94 – Farmer
95-94 – Farmer
Some boxing fans considered the decision controversial, as they felt the 34-year-old Farmer deserved the win. Farmer scored a knockdown in the fourth round and mainly landed shots to the head.
“They are going to finalize the rematch between William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer for March 29 in Cancun. The fight will now be 12 rounds for the interim Lightweight championship (for WBC),” said Salvador Rodriguez in X.
Zepeda focused almost entirely on Farmer’s body, hitting him with powerful shots that should have easily resulted in him winning a wide decision.
The score reflects what this group of judges felt was important to them. Many would score wide for Zepeda based on his punishing body work. It wasn’t close.
I got 9-1 for Zepeda. Farmer won the fourth due to his flash knockdown of Zepeda, but other than that round, it was one-sided. Zepeda battered Farmer’s body in every round of the fight and had him looking tired by the eighth round.
Farmer had the same look to him as Zepeda’s other opponents when they took too much punishment and had to be pulled out for their own good. It was brave that Farmer hung on, but he wasn’t competitive by the eighth round. It was hard to watch the old veteran hit like that.
Former IBF super featherweight champion Tevin was gone and was the equivalent of a punching bag in the last three rounds. If this had been a 12 round fight, Farmer would have been knocked out because he was absorbing some terrible punishment in the last two rounds.
It was similar when Farmer beat Raymond Muratalla on July 13, 2024. Farmer was competitive for seven rounds, but took a beating from the eighth round and was lucky to see the final bell.
In the last two rounds, Zepeda landed more than 100 punches per round, and Farmer looked like a victim who had been worked over. Surprisingly, the judges found this discrepancy close. A rematch isn’t necessary, but it will appease fans who felt Farmer was robbed.
Zepeda needs to win this fight and look good to mount a title challenge against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, provided he is victorious in his bout against Floyd Schofield on February 22nd.
