William Zepeda remained in place to get a featherlight WBC title against Shakur Stevenson, victory in the majority of Tevin Farmer on Saturday at Cancun, Mexico.
One judge won the 135-Funt competition 114-114, but the other two had it 116-112 and 115-113 in favor of Zepa.
This is Zepeda’s second victory over the farmer, who won the knocking during the November meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is scheduled for 10 rounds. However, the rematch was staged in the native country of Zepeda within 12 rounds.
“I didn’t take this fight because I beat him [the first time]I took this fight because it was a test – said 28 -year -old Zepeda through the translator. “I knew he was hard for the first time and this time he was even more hard. And thank you for giving me the opportunity and I am very grateful that we had 22 rounds.”
Zepeda (32-0, 27 KO) dominated the first five rounds behind his Southpaw stab, relentless pressure and body attack. He was on the verge of a farmer, a former 130-pound champion, in round 5, when he landed unanswered.
The judge intended to stop the fight when the farmer (33-8-1, 8 KO) conjured up the upper several to end the round. Despite the apparent left hand injury in round 1, Farmer, Southpaw, he still landed with this leftist Uppercut in round 6, his best fight.
The farmer’s success lasted on the section, but it was not enough to sway the judges. He lost the third in a row (the second loss was against the featherlight pretender Raymond Muratalla in July), although the farmer significantly improved his reserves with two bold performances against Zepeda.
“Nothing against Zepeda, he is a warrior. … He doesn’t create results cards … Probably one of the most hard fighters in the division because of his production,” said Farmer, 34-year-old from Philadelphia. “If you can’t keep up with his results and you can’t hurt him, he exerts pressure on you.
“I have respect for a warrior, I have no respect for boxing. … I dominated all the last rounds. … The first seven was a bit rocky. … I can’t go to the camp, not to make decisions and not be robbed. The last fight was closer to this fight.”
Zepeda is a featherlight No. 2 ESPN after Stevenson. Along with Zepeda’s victory, he will keep his mandatory position in WBC and can win his first title this summer, trying with one of the best fighters of this sport.
Canelo Alvarez talked about how long he could stay in the sport before hanging up his gloves and opting for a decorated career.
The 35-year-old is already destined for a place in the Hall of Fame, as he became a four-division world champion, but he still wants to compete at the highest level.
Since his professional debut in 2005, the Mexican has made 68 appearances and has twice become the undisputed king of the 168-pound division, scoring notable victories over the likes of Callum Smith and Caleb Plant.
More controversial was their first meeting a year earlier, when many felt Golovkin had done enough to claim a convincing victory and the Kazakhstan ended in a draw.
Still, Canelo received plenty of credit for his follow-up triumph before dethroning Sergei Kovalev to capture the WBO featherlight heavyweight title over a year later.
Alvarez’s second undisputed super middleweight reign came to an end last September when Terence Crawford moved up two weight classes and won a unanimous decision.
But Canelo explained anyway Froch About the fight that he can still compete for another two years, maybe even longer, depending on how often his opportunities come along.
“I don’t know. I think maybe two years. I don’t need it, [but] I still enjoy it. If I [fight] maybe once a year [I can go on] a little bit [longer].
“Once a year to rest my body, I think I can fight more [than two years]”
Although an official announcement has not yet been made, Canelo is scheduled to fight in Riyad, Saudi Arabia this September, and Turki Alalshikh has promised to fight for the world title.
Boxing’s worst kept secret has now been confirmed – Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KO) and Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KO) will meet on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship.
The all-Japan clash was formally announced at a press conference in Japan. The fight will be broadcast live on Lemino pay-per-view; US distribution rights have not yet been announced.
Inoue – ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer – is coming off an impressive 2025 in which he competed four times, defeating Kim Ye-Joon, Ramon Cardenas, Murodjon Akhmadaliev and David Picasso. Thanks to Inoue’s unanimous decision victory over Picasso in December, Nakatani defeated Sebastian Hernandez in the second fight of the night in a tougher-than-expected fight. Their victories set up a long-awaited clash between two of Japan’s best players.
Nakatani is ranked No. 6 pound-for-pound by ESPN and will look to become a four-division champion after winning world titles at bantamweight, junior bantamweight and flyweight. Although Nakatani narrowly won his junior featherweight debut in a grueling fight against Hernandez, Nakatani proved he was one of the best fighters in the world and had a powerful showing in 2025, winning 3-0.
The Undercard will feature Inoue’s younger brother Takuma defending his WBC bantamweight title against former four-division titleholder Kazuto Ioka.
Jai Opetai’s fight against Brandon Glanton is still moving forward, but veteran reporter Dan Rafael says the issue that caused the IBF title to be removed from the fight had to do with how the belt was presented during fight week. Rafael reported that IBF president Daryl Peoples believes that the organization’s title was shown as secondary to Zuffa’s belt during a recent press conference.
This explanation makes the argument about the presentation rather than the match itself. Rafael wrote that Peoples objected to the way the belts were arranged at the press, with Zuffa’s belt posed for the cameras while Opetaia held the IBF title rather than raising it in the usual manner towards the audience.
“The IBF withdrew sanctions and sent the overseer home after the journalist because IBF President Daryl Peoples felt disrespected by the belt being placed secondary to Zuffa’s,” Rafael wrote on social media.
Fight week photos reflect the arrangement Rafael described. At the final press conference on Friday, Zuffa’s belt was centered and Opetaia held the red IBF title at his side. Saturday’s weigh-in had a similar effect. Zuffa’s belt was raised over the fighters on the restart, while Opetaia continued to hold the IBF Championship on his chest. This sequence appears to have irritated the sanctioning authority.
Rafael also reported another unusual detail related to the fight. Even after the IBF dropped its sanctions, Opetai and Glanton were still expected to adhere to IBF weight rules ahead of the morning fight. Rafael said that no competitor can weigh more than ten pounds over the cruiserweight weight limit of 200.
Rafael later noticed that the IBF belt continued to appear in promotion for the event. Opetaia held the title at media events and discussed it publicly, and graphics broadcast by Zuffa covered the championship. Rafael’s account points to the dispute that raged over Zuffa’s title belt relationship during press events.
Opetaia entered fight week as the IBF cruiserweight champion after regaining the belt in a rematch victory over Mairis Briedis in 2024. The Australian continues to wear the physical belt while promoting his fight against Glanton. Once he steps into the ring and takes part in an unsanctioned fight, the IBF Championship will no longer move forward with him.
The fight remains scheduled, and reports from Rafael indicate that the split was due to belt politics and presentations at public events. The episode shows how rigorously sanctioning bodies guard the status of their championships as modern promoters introduce competitive titles.
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