Tim Bradley believes highly-ranked lightweight contender William Zepeda could lose next month to Tevin Farmer in a ten-round fight at “Latino Night” on Nov. 16 at The Venue in Riyadh.

The 34-year-old Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KO) is a wily former IBF super featherweight champion who is coming off a ten-round unanimous decision loss to Raymond Muratalla on July 13 in Paradise, Nevada.

WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is expected to be next for Zepeda if he wins against Farmer and looks good doing it. If he loses, this fight is out of the question.

Zepeda has looked impressive recently, scoring knockouts against the following fighters:

– Giovanni Cabrera
– Maxi Hughes
– Mercito Gesta
– Jaime Arboleda

I would prefer Hughes and Cabrera over Farmer. These guys would be a gigantic problem for him in his career. Commentator Bradley believes Farmer has enough at this point in his 13-year career to likely defeat Zepeda (31-0, 27 KO). I don’t agree with this.

This will be another demolition task for Zepeda, which could be completed by the fourth unless Farmer keeps moving non-stop. That’s not how Farmer fights.

This would be a major blow to Zepeda’s Golden Boy-promoted career as he is ranked No. 1 in all four lightweight sanctioning bodies and is set to fight WBC champion Shakur Stevenson next February.

“If Zepeda can blow Farmer away, that’s a great statement because I don’t think Farmer is just showing up for a paycheck. Farmer is still fighting for victory. It’s about its structure and character. He’s not spineless, and when he shows up in the ring, he shows up to win,” said Paulie Malignaggi. Probox TVtalking about William Zepeda fighting Tevin Farmer on November 16 during “Latino Night” in Riyad.

Before Farmer’s loss to the highly sought-after Raymond Muratalla last July, he had won three straight, dating back to a loss to Joseph Diaz in 2020. Farmer is still in great shape. However, his problem is that he fights outside his natural weight class and against a great boxer, Zepeda.

“I like this fight because it can show us any shortcomings in Zepeda’s style. Yes, he’s a two-fisted destroyer, but could he be more against a guy with Tevin Farmer’s cunning and grit? That’s why this fight is really fascinating,” Malignaggi said.

Farmer will make Zepeda look bad at times early on, but once he warms up by the third game it will soon be over. Farmer won’t be able to take the shots Zepeda is firing at him without falling apart.

“You expect Zepeda to win because Farmer is on the other side of his best,” Malignaggi said. “But you don’t expect it to be as instructive as Zepeda was doing to these other guys.

“If he can get the better of Farmer like he did against the other guys, then it will be a more profound statement. He’s banging on the door, wanting to win the title. It is mandatory in all four [sanctioning bodies]. So the title fight should come soon,” Malignaggi said of Zepeda.

“It could backfire. I know what Golden Boy is trying to do, but Farmer is sneaky,” said Tim Bradley, who thinks Zepeda could lose. “This guy could win this fight. I saw it.

Farmer has nothing to stop Zepeda from taking him down and cutting him to pieces in this fight early on. Farmer is too feeble to fight a lightweight fighter like Zepeda.

“Zepeda is a type of shrimp [Mantis] it kills you. I saw it in one of the National Geographic specials,” Malignaggi said, referring to Zepeda’s nickname “Camaron.” “Zepeda is one of those types of shrimp. He is a striker. I’m not a fan of science, but there is a shrimp that means death [Mantis Shrimp]. I’m talking about the shrimp where you die. Zepeda is a type of shrimp.

Zepeda shouldn’t have any problems with the 34-year-old Farmer, but it will take him a few rounds to balmy up before he starts loading him up with combinations.

Alejandro Paulino wants to prove that he is a rising lightweight.

As manager Roland Estrada confirmed in an interview with The Ring, undefeated Paulino will face Toka Kahn Clary on November 2. The 10-round fight will take place at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Kahn Clary will be a step up in opposition, but Estrada is confident Paulino will rise to the occasion and make a statement to the rest of the 135-pounders.

“This will be the biggest fight of Alejandro’s compact but aggressive career,” Estrada told The Ring on Sunday evening. “Toka Kahn Clary is a great fighter who has fought and trained with many boxing legends. His reputation is highly regarded in our sport and especially in Modern England. We organized our camp as if Alejandro was fighting for the world title, so there will be no excuses.

“On Sunday morning (Nov. 3), we will find out if this kid (Paulino) is just another fighter or if he is one of the top lightweights in the lightweight division.”

Paulino (18-0, 14 knockouts), who lives in nearby Modern London, last fought on September 7, knocking out Luis Porozo in the first round. In his previous fight on March 23, Paulino overcame a lightning-quick first-round knockdown before knocking down Estivan Falcao in a round en route to a unanimous decision victory.

The 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic has fought 15 times this year for the Boston Butchers of the Team Combat League, which ended at the end of July. Paulino lost only one fight.

Paulino started boxing at the age of 18 and is promoted by longtime Modern England promoter Jimmy Burchfield.

Kahn Clary (29-3, 19 KO) has not fought since November 2022, defeating former junior lightweight world title challenger Jonathan Oquendo by unanimous decision. In his previous fight in December 2020, Kahn Clary lost a decision of over 10 one-sided rounds to Shakur Stevenson.

The 32-year-old fought on numerous top-level cards before losing by knockout to Jhon Gemino in September 2016. Southpaw Kahn Clary won his next six fights before losing a decision to former world featherweight champion Kid Galahad.

Kahn Clary is originally from Monrovia, Liberia and currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island. He has three wins over three undefeated fighters: Jose Haro, David Berna and John Moralde.

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Jack Rafferty is still texting his mom.

“On the Thursday before my fight, I texted her 38 minutes after three saying, ‘I’m going to win that British title for you. I love you, I will make you proud of me. Just look, red heart of love. Your son will be a British, Commonwealth and WBC silver champion.

“I knew I would win. I had this premonition and it all came true.”

Rafferty (24-0 (15 KO) knows he will never hear back. His mother died almost four years ago. Sending these texts is the best way he can let her know he has kept his promises to her.

On Saturday night, Rafferty defeated undefeated Henry Turner in Liverpool to add the vacant British super lightweight title to his Commonwealth belt.

For seven rounds, the talented Turner consistently implemented his pre-fight plan. After nine rounds, the fight was over.

For most people, this will be their first contact with a Shaw competitor who has been competing on tiny indoor tracks for years.

Rafferty, 29, is known as “The Demolition Man”, but over the years his trainer Steve Maylett has perfected his aggressive style.

Instead of taking him out with a hammer, Maylett has steadily improved Rafferty’s skills and every fight is now a well-planned, controlled demolition.

Rafferty’s confidence in Maylett was evident in his complete lack of panic as the rounds progressed. Turner boxed and moved well, but he moved too much. When he finally had to stop and keep his feet, Rafferty took advantage of the moment. Turner’s corner took him out of the fight after a brutal finish to the ninth round.

As of Monday afternoon, his achievement still hadn’t sunk in.

“No, nowhere near it,” he said. “I woke up this morning and the first thing I said was, ‘I can’t believe I’m British champion.’

“I didn’t even watch the fight. I watched all the videos and watched the clips that were posted on Instagram. I didn’t watch it from start to finish.

“I’m pissed off with my performance and pissed off at how bad my hands were when I allowed myself to hit some shots. But you know, there’s still something to work on.

“I injured my bicep in the third round and I guess you could say I wasn’t that acute, but was he exceptionally acute?”

Rafferty took an exhausted 24-year-old Turner down strenuous at the end of the ninth episode, and as he sat down on a stool, he couldn’t lend a hand but glance over Maylett’s shoulder to see what was happening in the opposite corner. He understood what had happened in front of his coach.

“I knew it,” he said. “I saw him bury his head in the towel and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t want to say anything because I don’t want to get mad at Steve telling me to focus on this fight,’ but I did. I said, “Steve, he’ll pull it, he’ll hold it.” He said, “Jack, get your shit together for this fight.” I said, “Steve, stop,” and jumped up.

“Every British player has to win this British title. It’s like stage one and stage five, and stage five is the world title. Stage one through three, I can close this book. Boom. Then you will move on to the next stage.”

Reaching the next stage wasn’t basic.

It’s been seven years since Rafferty turned professional, and until Saturday night at the M&S Bank Arena, each of them had been spent in leisure centers and tiny venues. Until June, he had never even boxed on TV; his stoppage of India’s Sabari Jaishankar was shown on DAZN.

Rafferty’s mother may not be there to support him emotionally, but she still plays a key role in helping him achieve his dreams. Rafferty estimates he has spent around £25,000 in 2022 in a desperate attempt to stay dynamic. Much of that sum came from the money she left him. Finally, his chance came this weekend.

Turner was a multiple-time amateur national champion and worked strenuous to take his style to the professional level. He continues to improve and has become accustomed to boxing at major events and dealing with the media attention that comes with it.

It is very basic for a B-side promotion player – especially one who is not familiar with the gigantic events – to develop an inferiority elaborate, accept a tiny part in the spectacle and retreat into his shell.

Aware that he likely wouldn’t get another chance if he let this one get out of hand, Rafferty was determined to impose himself on the fight during the opening press conference and made sure Turner and his team knew it, although he was grateful for the opportunity to do much, much more than just taking part.

“I immediately felt like he respected me,” Rafferty said. “I knew I was bigger and better than him and I thought, ‘Actually, he’s here because of me – yes, I may come out last, but he’s fighting me because of what I did.’

“He showed up overdue in the [final] press conference I told him about at the weigh-in. I said, “Listen, you’re overdue for the press conference and you’re going to be runner-up.” I felt like I won the press conference, if that means anything. I felt like I looked better than him, which doesn’t mean anything, but I felt more grown up; I felt more experienced. I felt like I had done this before and I hadn’t.

“I wanted this. As I told you in the post-fight interview, I closed my eyes and spoke in interviews. I closed my eyes and spoke at press conferences.

“I imagined things like this.

“If you look at me when I walk into the room, I look around at everyone. I shake my head and think, “No, I deserve to be here.” I felt I was in the right place at the right time.”

Winning the British title means the world to Rafferty and his brother Tom [who is also an unbeaten professional]and his father Dave, but there is absolutely no sense that the work has been done.

Before his first-round knockout victory over Lee Appleyard in December, Rafferty told me he sat down and calculated exactly how many days he needed to stay fully committed and focused to achieve everything he wanted.

One of his main goals has been scratched and he has plenty of time to pursue the rest of his dreams.

On Sunday, Rafferty took his newly won titles to his mother’s grave. If all goes according to plan, he should make many more similar visits in the future.

“The plans now are to grow and listen to Steve and dedicate my life until I am 34,” he said.

“Steve said, ‘We’ll get you the British title and then let’s go for the world title.’ Everyone wants to win the world title, but as Steve said, let’s get the British title out of the way first.

“Not only do I have an basic opponent there. He’ll be hazardous in 24 months, this Henry Turner. It will be unbelievable. I beat a good opponent there. It wasn’t just Henry Turner – it was really good Henry Turner.

“I won’t say, ‘I want to win the world title next.’ I’m going to work towards a world title. I’m going to move up to super lightweight and I’ll stay that way, it won’t be a problem.

“Now I will transplant all the time. I’m going on a spa day for my girlfriend and that’s the only day I have booked.

— The plane has already taken off. It will end when I retire – 1,500 days and I hope I never have to work again in my life. This is what I want to do.

I hope these gigantic money fights come next. I’m going to transplant strenuous for them. I’ll improve at the gym. I will do it. I know I will, and you know what? One day, when all is said and done, I will be able to sit back and think, “There was nothing more I could have done.” That’s all I could do.

“This is the feeling I want. But I will do it by winning the world title.”