Has William Zepeda Already Hit His Ceiling?

Zepeda, 28 from San Mateo Atenco, MX, led with his head in the rematch with Farmer and relied on pure volume to get him out of trouble and win the fight. Farmer was able to set up traps successfully and took advantage of Zepeda during the moments when Farmer himself was most vulnerable. It was a move that only a few veterans in the sport could get away with. The two times in the fight when the referee was close to stopping it, Zepeda could not finish Farmer. The great ones know how to close the show and Zepeda isn’t quite there. He also found himself on the receiving end of a left uppercut by Farmer in both moments, which hurt him, including the last round.

It wasn’t all bad for Zepeda, as he cut the ring off better in the rematch than in the first fight. He also was able to find success in landing his punches to the body of Farmer, which slowed him down faster this time around. Zepeda’s motor lasted the 12 rounds, and he looked fresher late, which was good to see after the disastrous outing against Farmer in Riyadh last year.

Going into the fight, I was expecting Zepeda to add a new wrinkle to his game and maybe even stop Farmer the second time around. I wasn’t alone in that thinking, as the oddsmakers favored Zepeda to win by stoppage. Instead, I saw the same Zepeda makeup, and thoughts began circulating in my mind about whether he was truly ready for the Shakur Stevenson, Keyshawn Davis, Vasyl Lomachenko, and Gervonta Davis’ of the world.

All four world champions would have likely beaten the version of Zepeda we saw on Saturday. Maybe he just had a bad night, but that would mean he had two bad nights in a row within six months. It just doesn’t look like there will be a higher-level version of Zepeda that would bust out in a world title fight. He is who he is, and after throwing a thousand-plus punches a fight while also taking some clean shots to the head, the current version of Zepeda may be the best we will get.

Who Will Zepeda Face For His First World Title Shot?

Before the two Farmer fights, it seemed inevitable that Zepeda would face Stevenson for his WBC lightweight title. After Saturday, there may not be a rush to do that one, and Golden Boy would have to look at which fight gives Zepeda the more favorable matchup. Looking at all four champions, Zepeda vs. Lomachenko makes the most sense for Golden Boy. Loma is coming off an injury and is 37 years old. Zepeda is ranked #1 with the WBA and could decide that getting a title opportunity with an older but still dangerous fighter may be the best option.

If Zepeda and his team decide to face Stevenson and it ends up being on a Riyadh Season card, Zepeda will have a hard time trying to catch Stevenson all night long. If Farmer was a handful while being well past his prime, Stevenson would have too fast of feet and reflexes for Zepeda to succeed.

Whether he appears ready for a title shot or not, the time is now (preferably his next fight) for Zepeda, and Golden Boy needs to throw him in the deep end of the pool to see if they have a future star or someone who benefited from good matchmaking on the way up.