Shakur Stevenson reacted predictably to his heir to the throne, William Zepeda’s victory over the Shakur-esque clone Tevin Farmer on Saturday night, labeling him “Food.”
(Credit: Golden Boy/Cris Esqueda)
Zepeda Cracked the Code
What we saw tonight was Zepeda easily cracking the Shakur code by dominating a Tevin (33-7-1, 8 KOs), winning a ten-round split decision at The Venue in Riyadh, which should have been a wide-lopsided victory. Zepeda threw 1087 punches and landed 527.
Those were mostly power shots, and Farmer looked like he’d given up by the eighth round. He had nothing left and was holding on to survive. The white flag of surrender was up, and he basically surrendered.
Farmer was mostly trying to smother Zepeda by holding but was taking a lot of shots from the Mexican fighter on the inside. This was his game plan. Even the attempts at neutralizing Zepeda’s work by excessive clinching didn’t work for Farmer.
It was the only thing he could do to avoid getting knocked out. If Farmer had not used that negative tactic, he wouldn’t have made it past the sixth round because he was overmatched on offense.
The judges gave it to Zepeda by the scores:
– 95-94 and 95-94 Zepeda
– 95-94 Farmer
Farmer only fought well enough to win the fourth when he scored a flash knockdown. If you watch that round, Zepeda dominated up to the knockdown and then got up and finished strong, continuing to batter the former IBF super featherweight champion Farmer.
Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) has his laser sights set on WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs), targeting the Mayweather-style throwback fighter for February 22nd for an event in Riyadh.
Those two fighters will meet next unless Shakur’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, chooses to swerve Zepeda after what he did to Farmer tonight. I wouldn’t blame Hearn one bit. Zepeda showed that he had no problem solving the Shakur code with his victory over the knockoff version, Farmer.
Shakur Views Zepeda As a Threat
The labeling of Zepeda as “food” by Shakur makes it clear that the New Jersey native views him as a threat. Losing to Zepeda would end Shakur’s hopes of fighting Gervonta Davis because he would be dismissed. First, Tank isn’t eager to fight a runner, and if he loses to Zepeda, then there wouldn’t be any reason for him to fight him.
It would take too many years for Shakur to come back from a loss to Zepeda, and it’s doubtful that he can because he’s already shown against Edwin De Los Santos that he doesn’t belong at 135.
Shakur is a fish that is out of water and lightweight, lacking the power and bravery to fight in the trenches. He would never even attempt to battle Zepeda the way Farmer did tonight by standing on the front lines to meet fire with fire. You can’t beat Zepeda by running. Farmer knew this. That’s why he didn’t try to run like past Zepeda victims.
“If I had let him dictate the pace, it probably would have been too much. That’s what a lot of young fighters don’t know. When you’ve got a guy that likes to come forward, you got to make them go backward because that’s the only thing they know how to do. So, we made them go backward,” said Tevin Farmer to DAZN following his loss to Zepeda.
Zepeda vs. Farmer Fight Stats
- William Zepeda threw an absurd amount of punches, with 1087 thrown, connecting on 527 for a 48% connect rate.
- Farmer threw 737 with 361 landing for a 49% connect rate.
“I think we saw the best Tevin Farmer tonight. That’s what you need to do to beat him, and he still came up short,” said Sergio Mora of DAZN.
Food!!
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 16, 2024
Zepeda throws non stop punches I never fought a pressure fighter in the pros that doesn’t stop puncher, This gone be fun!
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 16, 2024
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