William Zepeda wins majority nod in rematch with gutsy Tevin Farmer, P5
- Shidonna Raven
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
This Article has been curated by UDBN
March 30, 2025
Source: Boxing Scene
The action paused in the 10th round and again in the 11th for loose tape on Farmer’s wrist. Round 11 was a tale of two halves, the first 90 seconds or so belonging to Zepeda, who wouldn’t let Farmer hold on. The latter minute and a half featured Farmer scoring in combinations, moving and then doing it again.
As the 12th round began, it was impressive that the fight – and specifically Farmer – had made it to this point. Farmer wasn’t here for a moral victory, though. Whether Farmer thought he was behind or ahead on the scorecards, he recognized the importance of finishing strong.
The two fought at close quarters, and Farmer had Zepeda more visibly hurt than had been the case in the preceding 11 rounds. About a minute into the 12th, Farmer threw a left hand and Zepeda’s gloves touched the canvas. The referee ruled it a slip, and the broadcast replay justified that call, as Farmer appeared to have pulled Zepeda down rather than put him there with a scoring blow. Nevertheless, Farmer soon scored with a big left hand that shook Zepeda. Farmer followed up, and then Zepeda recovered and retaliated.
The bell rang. The fight went to the scorecards. One judge scored the bout even, 114-114. He was overruled by the two judges who saw the action mostly for Zepeda, 116-112 and 115-113.
“I knew he was difficult the first time,” Zepeda said afterward through a translator. “He was even more difficult this time.”
Farmer – who declined to answer a question about his injury – expressed respect for Zepeda but was upset at the outcome, and at the sport of boxing in general.
“I can’t get decisions,” he said. “I don’t have a big promoter, so what the hell am I to do? So at this point, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t keep going to camp and doing all this shit and then not getting the decision and getting robbed. I’m not going to lie: The last fight was closer than this fight.”
And there’s the rub. Farmer, now 33-8-1 (8 KOs), has shown in his past two outings that he can still compete at a high level. But that won’t get him in any better position than being the B-side to another prospect or contender or, if he’s fortunate, landing a title shot.
“Could” being the operative term. Not for Zepeda. “Will” is the word. Zepeda, now 33-0 (27 KOs), retained his interim WBC belt and the shot that will bestow him at Stevenson, the sanctioning body’s full titleholder.
Zepeda had already been named Stevenson’s mandatory contender even before the first fight with Farmer. Zepeda declined that fight back then because his wife was due to give birth.
Zepeda got the win he needed in Saturday’s rematch, but it is fair to have doubts about how he will fare against Stevenson, who is considered more talented than Farmer.
Nevertheless, it is most likely that they will approach the Stevenson fight the same way that Zepeda approaches his foes: by moving forward relentlessly and seeing what comes of it.
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Marcus Doggett, Chief Editor
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