Fresh off becoming a father for the first time, William Zepeda has set his sights on Tevin Farmer.
Mexico’s Zepeda is billed to face the former IBF junior lightweight titleholder on Nov. 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to Zepeda’s trainer, Jay “Panda” Najar, the Farmer fight will help prepare the fighter for a showdown versus Shakur Stevenson to follow.
“We haven’t fought the African-American style yet, but we’ll be fighting that with Tevin Farmer, and we’ll see how we do,” Najar told BoxingScene.
Fans, however, were hoping for Zepeda to face Stevenson next. The two undefeated 135-pounders were said to have initiated negotiations for a potential autumn date but failed to reach an agreement due to the differences in timelines. While Zepeda (31-0, 17 KOs) was considering a November date, Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) opted to defend his WBC lightweight title against Joe Cordina in October.
“Shakur Stevenson wanted to fight soon,” said Najar. “We were looking to fight in November because William just recently became a father. So Shakur decided to take another fight before, and we’ll be fighting in November in Saudi Arabia.
“We are facing Tevin Farmer, and this is not a tune-up fight. There’s no tune-up in boxing. I don’t believe in tune-ups. There are two men in there who want to give their best and who are willing to win.”
On Wednesday, Matchroom Boxing chairman and Stevenson promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed to BoxingScene that Stevenson’s widely panned bout against Cordina, set for the undercard of the Oct. 12 undisputed light heavyweight championship fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, is now off due to a hand injury suffered by Stevenson.
Hearn also revealed that Stevenson had surgery immediately after the injury was diagnosed. How that affects the timeline for a Stevenson-Zepeda 2025 match remains to be seen, though Najar has a target in mind.
“The fight would be in February 2025,” Najar said. “That’s what the negotiation is about. I think I have the best 135-pounder in the world. They think they have the best 135-pounder in the world. I don’t think we’ve ever fought anybody like Shakur, but I can guarantee you he’s never fought anybody like William. I don’t think he has the punching power to do so.
“William is not just a puncher; he knows how to box. He knows how to do a lot of things. William is not an original southpaw, but he knows how to change stance, and he knows how to do things to change up a fight. Our job is just to keep winning and fighting, and I think that we’re going to beat Shakur.
“If I wasn’t confident, I shouldn’t be in this position that I’m in. We’ve worked hard for it.”
Zepeda will be making his third appearance this year, after stoppage victories over Maxi Hughes and Giovanni Cabrera in March and July, respectively.
“He’s a very disciplined fighter. I think his offense is his best defense,” said Najar. “Because there’s no other fighter on this planet that can throw 1,500 punches in a fight. And he’s not only a fighter that just throws punches. He puts his punches where they need to be. He’s a body puncher, he takes care of the body, throws a jab and all of that.
“We’re just people who want to fight. We’re just people who want to win and give the crowd what they want. I think he’s going the right way about it. Like I tell you, it’s just discipline. He’s a fighter who is always willing to learn. He’s a fighter that is always willing to do something different.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].
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