Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez confirmed that William Zepeda suffered a right injury and will not be able to challenge Shakur Stevenson for his WBC lightweight belt on February 22.
Gomez said they looked “rearrange” Shakur fight because that’s what Zepeda wants next (32-0, 27 KOs). He beat Shakur-clone Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) last Saturday night in Riyadh, and now he’s looking for the real thing.
Zepeda was seen walking with his right hand bracket since he fought Farmer last Saturday night. This is not a fake thing where fighter ducks. Zepeda wouldn’t have put on the apron if he hadn’t been injured because he’s not the type to fight, especially against a less defensive fighter like Shakur.
“No, Zepeda is injured. So, he injured his hand. We’re looking to reschedule that, but it’s the fight that Zepeda wants,” said Eric Gomez to ESNEWS about William Zepeda who was injured and will not be able to fight Shakur Stevenson on February 22.
During the fight, one could see that Zepeda’s right hand was not fully recovered, possibly injured due to the body shots he used to hit the 34-year-old Farmer.
It is difficult to pinpoint when an injury occurred in combat. However, the number of punches that hit Zepeda’s body seemed to increase in the second half of the fight, indicating that he was focused on the ground floor after the injury. It is easier for combatants to throw themselves at the body than to throw them at the head when they are wounded in the hand.
Zepeda defeated Farmer by points:
– 95-94: Zepeda
– 95-95: Farmer
– 95-94: Zepeda
Farmer dropped Zepeda with a left hand in the fourth round, but it was quick work and not a situation where he could hurt him. When Zepeda got to his feet, he continued to dish out punishment to Farmer for the rest of the round and the fight.
I got it 9-1 in favor of Zepeda, but I put a shot in the body where he stayed. The judges were only focused on the pots that Farmer was connected to, and there was no way he could get a 95-94 victory.
Shakur will have to fight someone else next if he wants to stay busy while he waits out Zepeda’s head injury. He should fight one of these contestants next:
Andy Cruz
Edwin De Los Santos
Floyd Schofield
Abdullah Mason
If Shakur wanted to show the world that he’s not afraid to fight killers at 135, he could have fought one of those guys while he waited out Zepeda’s hand injury. But given the risks involved and the high likelihood that he could play another game where he was taken off the field, he’s not going to take it easy on any of those guys.
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