William Zepeda posted on Instagram today that he injured his left hand during his fight with Tevin Farmer on Saturday night and has been advised by doctors to “6 to 8 weeks of rest” to recover before returning to the gym.
That injury will keep #1 ranked contender Zepeda on the shelf until early 2025. At that time, he and his promoters in Golden Boy could look to one of the lightweight champions to challenge them. With Zepeda’s ranking and four sanction structures, you have a choice of which champion to challenge.
Former undefeated lightweight Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) has been tipped as the next opponent for the WBC 135-lb champion. Shakur Stevenson on February 22 in Riyadh. Unfortunately, that is not possible due to injuries.
Doctor’s Orders
“After our last game [Tevin Farmer]we left with a wound on our left hand. We were getting ready to go back to the gym soon, but for the doctor’s evaluation, they recommended 6 to 8 weeks of rest for better recovery. For us, it is important to have this little break to achieve our work; We know that in 2025, great opportunities are coming, and we have to be 100%. After this recovery period, we would like to return at the end of March,” said William Zepeda on Instagram today.
Shakur is upset about losing the Zepeda battle, but good for him. There are many chances that he will lose to Zepeda, because of his height 100+ punch per round dischargehe’s on another level than Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs). Zepeda is a frowback fighter from the 1980s, another one Aaron Pryor type of advanced fighter.
Pryor was an armsmith in the mold of Artur Beterbiev. Zepeda throws hard and doesn’t stop, which is why he’s one of the most exciting fighters in the sport and the most fun to watch in the 135-lb division.
Casual fans have probably never seen or heard of Pryor, but ultra-hardcore fans know him, and he had a great career, just like Zepeda. Pryor’s fight with Alexis Arguello was legendary, and Zepeda fights the same way, but he’s more of a body puncher.
Title Shot Postponed
Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez confirmed last Saturday that Zepeda, 28, was injured and could not fight Shakur. He says Zepeda still wants that fight, but he can’t hold it now.
Shakur fans were saddened by Zepeda’s injury, but that’s how it happened. He fought Tevin Farmer last Saturday, and he threw a lot of punches, many of them connecting. When a fighter lands as many heavy punches as Zepeda did in that fight, hand injuries occur.
Zepeda-Farmer Punch Statistics
– William Zepeda: 259 out of 778 for a 33.3% connection rate.
– Tevin Farmer: 193 of 587 for 32.9%.
When Zepeda returns from his injury, he can look to WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. His scheduled title defense against Lamont Roach Jr. it’s March 1st. If it doesn’t move again, the Tank can move that out of the way and start negotiations with Zepeda.
