Interim WBC lightweight champion William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer have finalized negotiations for a March 29 rematch in Cancun, Mexico.
Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) is offered 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 cried bitterly afterwards that he should have been given the decision. It didn’t look like it, but it’s understandable why he was unhappy. Now, he gets another payday, but his chances of a rematch are slim.
Points
95-94 – Zepeda
95-94 – Farmer
95-94 – Farmer
Some boxing fans saw it as a controversial decision, as they felt Farmer, 34, deserved the win. Farmer hit a highlight reel in the fourth round and shot to the head.
“They are about to complete the rematch between William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer on March 29 in Cancun. The fight will now be 12 rounds for the Interim Lightweight Championship [for WBC],” said Salvador Rodriguez to X.
Zepeda focused almost entirely on Farmer’s body, nailing him with powerful shots that should have been an easy decision win.
The scores reflect what this group of judges feel is important to them. Many would have rated Zepeda heavily based on his punishing body work. It wasn’t close.
I caught it 9-1 from Zepeda. Farmer won the fourth due to a Zepeda takedown, but other than that round, it was one-sided. Zepeda pounded Farmer’s body throughout the rounds of the fight and had him looking tired by the eighth round.
Farmer had a similar look to him as other Zepeda opponents where they took a lot of punishment and needed to be taken out to take advantage. It was brave for Farmer to hang in there but he didn’t make it past the eighth round. It was hard to watch the old veteran get beaten like that.
Former IBF super featherweight champion Tevin was gone and it was like a punch bag in the last three rounds. If this had been a 12-round fight, Farmer would have been disqualified because he was taking so much punishment the last two rounds.
It was the same when Farmer fought Raymond Muratalla on July 13, 2024. Farmer fought for seven rounds but won from the eighth round onwards and was lucky to see the final bell.
In the last two rounds, Zepeda threw 100+ punches per round, and Farmer looked like a hard-working victim. What is surprising is that the judges had this conflict. There is no need for a repeat, but it will calm the fans who heard that the 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 can win his rematch with Floyd Schofield on February 22.
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