Tevin Farmer says Shakur Stevenson will have to actually “fight” William Zepeda to win because he throws too many punches for him to avoid all of them.
WBC lightweight champion Shakur will fight #1 ranked Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) in 2025, provided he wins his title defense against Floyd Schofield on February 22nd in Riyadh. Shakur is confident that he’ll defeat Zepeda, but Farmer has his doubts.
Zepeda’s Volume Punching
He obviously knows that the hit-and-run style that Stevenson utilizes won’t keep Zepeda off of him because he cuts off the ring well, and he’s willing to take shots to land his. Shakur has no power at all, and he won’t be able to escape Zepeda without running.
That’s not going to work. He’s going to look bad in front of Turki Alalshikh if he tries that tactic against Zepeda in Riyadh.
With Zepeda’s high volume output of 100+ punches per round, Farmer states that Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs) would have to battle him as he did in their clash last month on November 16th. Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) tried to defend against Zepeda’s numerous shots, but it was useless.
The former IBF super featherweight champion Farmer was forced to brawl with him, and he couldn’t keep up, especially in the championship rounds.
Zepeda wore Farmer down with his body punching and volume to win a 10-round split decision. The scores were 95-95, 95-94 for Zepeda, and 95-94 for Farmer. I watched the fight and I had Zepeda winning 8-2. It appeared the judges who worked the fight weren’t factoring in the numerous body shots Zepeda was landing in every round. They were just looking at headshots, which Farmer focused on.
If it had been a 12-round contest, he would have knocked out Farmer because the 34-year-old was exhausted by the ninth round and wouldn’t have made it the full twelve rounds without getting stopped.
“Golden Boy is willing to make it. The only way the rematch doesn’t happen is if Zepeda’s team says no,” said Tevin Farmer to the Cigar Talk channel about the rematch he wants against William Zepeda after losing to him on November 16.
“Golden Boy wants to make the rematch. I ain’t saying nobody told me nothing. I’m saying Golden Boy wants to make the rematch. I’m pretty sure Turki wants to make it. It was a hell of a fight.
“You got to make Zepeda respect you to do, because if you don’t, he’s going to keep moving forward,” said Farmer when asked how Shakur Stevenson would do against William Zepeda.
Farmer’s hopes of a rematch with Zepeda are wishful thinking because Golden Boy is not going to push for that fight. They know that the money fight, the one that Zepeda needs and wants, is against Shakur. Farmer has nothing to offer Zepeda. He’s not a champion and has lost his last two fights.
Farmer needs to move back down to super featherweight because he lacks the power to beat the lightweights. If he stays in the 135-lb weight class, he will continue to lose and will be forced out of the game.
Shakur Warned On Zepeda
“Zepeda is a pressure fighter, and he didn’t throw so many punches; it’s easy to pick someone apart like that,” said Farmer. “It’s easy to pick someone apart that comes forward and doesn’t throw that many punches. When somebody comes forward and throws so many punches, how many punches can you make somebody miss, even with my defense?
“I’m one of the best defensive fighters. I can stand there and not get hit if I want to. I know I can’t do that because how many punches can I slip? Yeah, Shakur is going to have to fight [Zepeda]. Shakur, to me, is one of the best in the world, but he’s going to have to fight,” said Farmer.
Zepeda forced Farmer to brawl with him because he was cutting off the ring and trapping him against the ropes. It was either Farmer having to fight, or he would have gotten knocked out by Zepeda. It’ll be the same thing with Shakur. He doesn’t have the power, toughness, or courage that Farmer has. There’s no way that Stevenson would have been able to take the kind of shots that Farmer did against Zepeda without getting knocked out or running & holding.
“I’m not saying he has to do what I did. I’m built different. I got a chin, I can deliver, and I can do all that. I’m not saying he [Shakur] don’t, but he’s going to have to fight,” said Farmer about how he’s better than Stevenson because he’ll actually stand in the pocket and be willing to trade.
“I feel I should have got the victory. With the knockdown, that was icing on the cake for me to edge it out. Everyone has their opinion, but I don’t care,” said Farmer about his belief that he did enough to deserve a win against Zepeda.
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