William Zepeda vs Maxi Hughes: Preview & Prediction

Undefeated Lightweight contender William Zepeda (29-0, 25 KOs) returns to action tomorrow night on DAZN against Maxi Hughes (26-6-2, 5 KOs) in an IBF & WBA title eliminator. The winner will have his choice of titles to go after so a lot is riding on this lightweight main event.

WILLIAM ZEPEDA CAN SECURE A TITLE SHOT WITH A WIN ON SATURDAY NIGHT

Zepeda is entering his prime years and has shown his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, that he is more than ready for a title shot. With a win, Zepeda becomes mandatory for the IBF & WBA titles, but the one he wants the most is the WBC strap held by Shakur Stevenson. He’s called for that fight to be next, and De La Hoya has recently been campaigning hard to make it happen with Top Rank. With Stevenson rumored to have a July 6 fight date, Zepeda could secure his seat as an opponent with a win on Saturday night.

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Will Zepeda have to do something special to beat Hughes? This is not exactly the case, as 34-year-old Hughes only has five knockouts in 34 fights. Hughes can make it ugly in there, so it will be up to Zepeda to overwhelm Hughes with his combination punching and pressure so that he can secure a mid-to-late fight stoppage. Zepeda needs to make a statement, and stopping Hughes early will do precisely that.

WILLIAM ZEPEDA VS MAXI HUGHES PREDICTION

This isn’t the fight where we see Zepeda tested and he will break down Hughes towards a sixth round stoppage.

WILLIAM ZEPEDA VS MAXI HUGHES BETTING ODDS

Per DraftKings SportsBook, William Zepeda is the favorite at -1600, and Maxi Hughes is the underdog at +850.

William Zepeda: TKO/KO -400; Decision +450

Draw: +2000

Maxi Hughes: TKO/KO +1800; Decision: +1000

WILLIAM ZEPEDA VS MAXI HUGHES DATE, START TIME

• Date: Saturday, March 16
• Start time: 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT
• Main event ringwalks (approx): 11:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. PT

These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights. 

WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS WILLIAM ZEPEDA VS MAXI HUGHES?

• U.S.: DAZN
• UK:   DAZN

WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS WILLIAM ZEPEDA VS MAXI HUGHES?

• William Zepeda vs. Maxi Hughes; Lightweight
• Floyd Schofield vs. Esteuri Suero; Lightweight
• Eric Priest vs. Jose Sanchez; Middleweight
• Tristan Kalkreuth vs. Marquice Weston; Cruiserweight
• Joel Iriarte vs. Levy Josue Garcia Benitez; Welterweight
• Darius Fulghum vs Norberto Gonzalez; Light Heavyweight

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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