Oscar De La Hoya says William Zepeda could face Tevin Farmer in a rematch before taking on WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson if he beats Floyd Schofield on February 22.
Shakur won’t be happy when he hears Zepeda is fighting a rematch with Farmer. He hoped to defend against the famous Mexican star next. New Jersey native Stevenson needs that fight against Zepeda to create interest in getting the unification match against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.
Zepeda-Farmer II?
#1 ranked 135-lb contender Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) defeated Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) by a 10-round split decision on November 16 in Riyadh. It’s a waste of time to have a rematch. Zepeda was clearly the better fighter and would have knocked out a very tired Farmer if it had been a 12 round contest.
Farmer’s engine was empty by the ninth round from the fast pace and numerous body shots that Zepeda had hit him with. The Mexican talent threw close to 100 punches per round and focused a lot on the body.
It was impressive to see Farmer take all those shots, but by the end of the fight, it looked like he had crawled out of a war zone.
Former IBF super featherweight champion Farmer had his moments in the fight, ducking a shot from Zepeda in the fourth. Zepeda came on strong to dominate Farmer, 34, in the second half of the fight, landing numerous body shots that sapped the energy.
Interestingly, the judges seemed to ignore all the body shots Zepeda landed on Farmer when scoring the fight, which should have been one-sided in Williams’ favor. The scores were 95-94 for Williams, 95-94 for Zepeda, and 95-94 for Farmer.
“We have to wait because this is a real fight. Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Schofield is a real fight, a dangerous fight for Shakur,” said Oscar De Hoya to Fight Hub TV when asked if William Zepeda will fight Shakur Stevenson after his defense against Floyd Schofield on February 22.
“I’m going to go with my man. I think my guy, Kid Austin, is going to knock the bastard out, and then we’ll get him out of there. Guglielmo Zepeda, he’s going to give him a fight in the meantime.
“There’s maybe talk of a rematch with Tevin Farmer. It was such a good fight,” De La Hoya said of Zepeda’s 10-round split decision win over Farmer on Nov. 16 in Riyadh. “I think Tevin Farmer is a great fighter. I like the way he handles himself outside the ring. He’s a good kid.
Farmer took a lot of punishment in his last two fights against Zepeda and Raymond Muratalla. We probably won’t see the same effort from him in a rematch with Zepeda. He fought too badly, and Zepeda has to pour from the beginning to get him out of there.
“So, yes, it’s a matter of sitting down with Zepeda’s team and hammering out a plan for him. But I like the rematch,” said De La Hoya about a second fight between Zepeda and Farmer.
