William Zepeda came out on top on March 29 when he faced Tevin Farmer in a rematch at Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun. With the victory, the native of San Mateo Atenco, México retained his interim WBC lightweight title.
The pair met for the second time following their first fight last November, when Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) claimed the victory by split decision, overcoming a knockdown in the fourth round along the way. The rematch also went the full distance, with the representative of the host country defeating former super featherweight champion Farmer (33-8-1, 8 KOs) from Philadelphia by majority decision. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113.
“Tevin Farmer is a tremendous fighter,” William Zepeda said. “I knew what I was risking by taking this fight. I have learned a lot now having gone 22 rounds with him, and I can’t wait to go back to the gym to continue to grow.”
“I want to thank all my fans for being here, and for all their support. A big thank you to Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, Pepe, and everyone who helped put this fight together.”
In Zepeda vs Farmer 2 undercard action
In the co-main event, Puerto Rican Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs) of Newark, NJ dominated and stopped Mexico’s Edwin Cano Hernandez (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with body shots to retain his unified WBA and WBO minimumweight titles. The time was 1:12 into the fifth round.
Among other Zepeda vs Farmer 2 results, Joselito Velazquez (21-1-1, 13 KOs) earned a unanimous decision against fellow Mexican Adolfo Castillo Gonzalez (12-5-2, 7 KOs). After 10 rounds at flyweight, the scores were 100-89, 100-89, and 97-92.
Las Vegas-based Robin Safar (18-0, 13 KOs) of Sweden defeated Roberto Silva (13-4, 7 KOs) of Houston, TX by TKO at cruiserweight. The referee stepped in and waved the fight off at 2:55 into the fifth round.
In the telecast opener, Nicaraguan-born Costa Rican Yokasta Valle (33-3, 10 KOs) defeated Marlen Esparza (15-2, 1 KO) of Houston, TX by split decision in a 10-round bout between former champions. Two judges scored the fight 97-93 in favor of Valle, and one judge scored it 96-94 for Esparza.
Among the prelims, Cayden Griffiths (4-0, 4 KOs) of Harrisburg, PA stopped Mexico’s Fernando Elias Ruiz Hernandez (2-1, 1 KO) at welterweight.