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 will not be happy to hear that Zepeda is fighting for a rematch with Farmer. He hoped to defend against the popular Mexican star next. New Jersey native Stevenson needs that fight against Zepeda to generate interest in getting a unification bout against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis.
Zepeda-Ratar II?
No. 1 ranked 135 lb contender Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) defeated Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) by split decision over 10 rounds on Nov. 16 in Riyadh. It's a waste of time for a rematch. Zepeda was clearly the better fighter and would have knocked out a very tired looking Farmer had it been a 12 round contest.
Farmer's engine was empty by the ninth round from the fast pace and numerous body shots that Zepeda landed on him. The Mexican talent threw close to 100 punches per round and focused a lot on the body.
It was impressive to see Farmer land all those punches, but by the end of the fight, he looked like he crawled out of a war zone.
Former IBF super featherweight champion Farmer had his moments in the fight, scoring a quick knockdown of Zepeda in the fourth. Zepeda came in strong and dominated Farmer, 34, in the second half of the fight, landing numerous energy-sapping body shots.
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 favor of Williams. 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 are a real fight, a dangerous fight for Shakur,” Oscar De Hoya told Fight Hub TV when asked if William Zepeda will next fight Shakur Stevenson after his defense against Floyd Schofield on February 22nd.
“I have to go with my guy. I think my guy, Kid Austin, is going to pull the upset, and then we're going to move on. William Zepeda will arrange a fight for him in the meantime.
“It is possible to discuss a rematch with Tevin Farmer. It was such a good fight,” De La Hoya said of Zepeda's 10-round split decision victory over Farmer on Nov. 16 in Riyadh. “I think Tevin Farmer is a great fighter. I like the way he carries 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 the rematch with Zepeda. He's been beaten too badly, and Zepeda will try hard to get him out of there right from the start.
“So, yes, it's a matter of sitting down with Zepeda's team and making a plan for him. But I love the rematch,” De La Hoya said of the second fight between Zepeda and Farmer.