Light-weight William Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) overcame a shock fourth-round knockdown to defeat Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) by a 10-round break up choice to win the WBC interim 135-lb title on Saturday night time at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Farmer, 34, caught Zepeda with a left hand in spherical 4 that put him down on the canvas. The punch caught Zepeda off guard whereas he was attacking, and he by no means noticed it coming. That was the excessive level of the struggle for Farmer, who was outworked in each spherical by Zepeda.
Zepeda’s Bodywork Missed
The judges had been impressed by the arduous, clear headshots that Farmer sometimes caught Zepeda with, however the rounds had been all dominated by the Mexican fighter. Even within the fourth, which was Farmer’s finest spherical, Zepeda out-landed him by a large margin, hitting him with physique photographs.
The judges ignored Zepeda’s bodywork, so that they scored the struggle nearer than it ought to have been. Zepeda landed over twice as many physique photographs as Farmer and linked on extra energy photographs.
After Zepeda was knocked down within the fourth, he turned up the warmth on Farmer, throwing nonstop punches and making him maintain to outlive. Many of the ultimate six rounds of the competition concerned Farmer clinching to stymie Zepeda’s offense as a result of he was getting labored over the physique and head. You may see the struggle being taken out of Farmer from the storm of photographs Zepeda hit him with.
The judges scores:
– 95-94: Zepeda
– 95-94: Zepeda
– 95-94: Farmer.
Farmer was bitter after the struggle, saying, “The knockdown edged it for me.” That one knockdown by Farmer didn’t negate how Zepeda outworked him in each spherical of the struggle. Once more, the judges didn’t give Zepeda credit score for the physique photographs he was hitting Farmer with, they usually additionally didn’t notice that Tevin was holding regularly.
The referee, Harvey Dock, ought to have penalized the extreme holding as a result of he was affecting the stream of the struggle. It wasn’t occasional holding. This was nonstop.
Last Punch Stats
William Zepeda linked on 259 of 778 photographs for a 33.3%.
Tevin Farmer linked in 193 of 587 photographs for a 32.9%.
Within the ultimate three rounds, Farmer’s physique language regarded like that of a fatigued fighter, as he was exhausted from the tempo Zepeda had compelled on him. He couldn’t maintain as a lot as a result of Zepeda was wrestling out of the clinches and touchdown quick physique punches that additional wore down the American.
With the win, Zepeda will subsequent problem WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson on February twenty second in Riyadh. In fact, Shakur might want to make it via coaching camp with out struggling a setback along with his surgically repaired proper hand.
Zepeda throws non cease punches I by no means fought a strain fighter within the professionals that doesn’t cease puncher, This gone be enjoyable!
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 16, 2024
