Lightweight Tevin Farmer knows the game all too well. A sneaky hunter, he became a measuring stick for promoters trying to gauge how their fighters would fare against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson. Farmer, with his slick defensive style and southpaw attitude, sees a pattern and is ready to prove he is more than just a test case for the next massive name.
On November 16, Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KO) returns to the ring in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, to face Mexican William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KO) in a fight that could make or break his career.
Farmer, a former IBF junior lightweight titleholder, is looking at a close decision loss to Raymond Muratalla – a fighter who, like many, is close to facing Stevenson. Now Farmer faces Zepeda, an aggressive, high-performance fighter who is on a four-fight knockout streak.
The farmer is fully aware of what is at stake. He had been here before, but this time the pressure was greater.
“They say me and Shakur [Stevenson] I have a similar style and I’m the one who wants to see how good Zepeda is to see if he’s ready for Shakur,” Farmer said. “But I promise you it won’t get to Shakur.”
28-year-old Zepeda looks unstoppable, and his last fight ended with a third-round knockout of Giovanni Cabrera. But Farmer, 34, still sees himself as a force to be reckoned with, despite setbacks. After losing the title to Joseph Diaz Jr. in January 2020. Farmer took a three-year hiatus before returning to win three fights in the Northeast. His recent loss to Muratalla was a close call, and now he’s determined to bounce back and clarify how he sees himself.
“I feel like I’m a adolescent veteran,” Farmer said. “I started boxing behind schedule, so I still feel adolescent, but I have a lot of fights ahead of me. I have to go out there and beat the guy that everyone is afraid of, and that’s William Zepeda.”
For Farmer, this fight is more than just another notch on his belt. It’s about regaining your place in the sport – or maybe leaving for good.
“The last fight was a do-or-die decision for me, but unfortunately it didn’t go my way,” Farmer said. “This time it’s really a matter of do or die. We come to put on a show.”