Most of the time, the sequels doesn’t live up to what the first fight produced, but WBC interim lightweight champion William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) and his opponent Tevin Farmer (33-8-1, 8 KOs) tried their best on Saturday night to erase that stigma.
Zepeda and Farmer fought for 12 grueling rounds, and in the end, the interim WBC champion came out victorious with a majority decision live on DAZN. The judge’s scorecards were 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113, indicating the type of fight it was in Cancun, Mexico on Saturday night.
Zepeda brought the pressure early on in the opening round as Farmer could not keep him off. Farmer flicked the right jab to both Zepeda’s body and head, which stopped him in his tracks. Farmer appeared hurt from a body shot by Zepeda but made it through the round.
In the second round, Zepeda swarmed Farmer with dozens of body shots, and one hit Farmer in the left elbow. Farmer didn’t react well and lowered his hands as Zepeda began to tee off on him. Somehow, Farmer made it to the end of the round after nearly being stopped. Farmer roared back in the third round with huge left uppercuts and maintained his distance with the right jab. Zepeda kept moving forward as he sucked all of Farmer’s oxygen.
In the fourth round, Zepeda continued his relentless attack, but it was Farmer who landed a left uppercut that stunned Zepeda. Farmer continued to land big left uppercuts as Zepeda swarmed him with punches.
Zepeda’s relentless attack continued in the fifth round. Farmer just had no answer and kept trying to shake out his left hand. Towards the end of the round, Zepeda had Farmer hurt badly, but then, out of nowhere, Farmer landed a left uppercut that rocked Zepeda right before the sound of the bell.
Farmer kept fighting with heart and guts as his left hand and/or arm was compromised. Zepeda kept coming forward with his pressure and throwing a ton of punches. Farmer used his feet more throughout the round to circle around Zepeda.
Things seemed to settle down in the seventh round as both fighters took breathers at different moments. Farmer needed it more than Zepeda and did just enough to sway some momentum back in his direction. Rounds eight and nine were more of the same as Zepeda continued with his relentless pressure.
Tevin Farmer had a good tenth round as Zepeda began to follow him more than cutting off the ring. This is where things played into the style of Farmer as he was able to move around, jab, and land the left uppercut from mid-range.
Zepeda got back to it in the 11th as Farmer was down to the last of his energy. In the last round, Farmer hurt Zepeda multiple times, and although Zepeda was vulnerable, Farmer just didn’t have the energy to push for the stoppage. It was an incredible round as both fighters emptied their tanks.
Oscar Collazo Turns In Another Great Performance
Unified minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs) scored a fifth-round knockout over his opponent Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) as part of the co-main on DAZN. In typical Collazo fashion, it took a few rounds, but he eventually broke down Cano and scored the finishing blow, which was a right hook to the body.
Both fighters wasted no time in the opening round as Cano’s left and right wide hooks to the head of Collazo were landing. Once Collazo got a feel for those punches, he quickly adjusted and punched with Cano as he landed a straight left down the middle. Cano was the aggressor, but Collazo did not allow himself to get bullied.
Collazo began breaking down Cano with hard hooks to the body and stab jabs. Cano’s energy seemed zapped as Collazo dictated the pace throughout the round. In the third and fourth rounds, Collazo began to incorporate the left uppercut which gave Cano problems since his punches were thrown from a wide angle. Cano still came forward and threw many punches, but most did not hit their mark. Collazo kept the body attack going, and Cano began to show the results as he bent his body to avoid those shots.
In the fifth round, Collazo, seeing that the end was near, put a ton of pressure on Cano, and when he landed the right hook to the body, Cano fell straight to his knees, and his reaction told you that he would not be able to continue.
After the fight, Collazo called for his next fight to be in July in his home country of Puerto Rico and also called for better pay with regard to fighters in the lower weight classes.
Undercard Results
Flyweight Yokasta Valle (33-3, 10 KOs) fought a tough battle with Marlen Esparza (15-3, 1 KO) but, in the end, squeezed out a split decision to come out victorious. The judges saw this one: 96-94 Esparza, 97-93 Valle and 97-93 Esparza.
Esparaza landed a short overhand right on the temple of Valle, which was the best punch of the first round. Valle would come back strong in the second as she out-landed Esparza, who could not find her mark. Valle was the busier fighter for the rest of the fight, with Esparza only throwing in spurts. Esparza’s late surge made the fight close but just wasn’t enough to earn the decision.
Cruiserweight Robin Safar (18-0, 13 KOs) was able to get some rounds in as he scored a TKO against the overmatched Roberto Silva (13-4, 7 KOs) in the fifth round of their fight. Safar seemed like he was “playing with his food” before finally ending the fight in the fifth. It was Safar’s Golden Boy debut and he will likely be part of the future plans for the promotion company at cruiserweight.
Super flyweight Joselito Velazquez (21-1-1, 13 KOs) scores a unanimous decision (100-89 x2 and 97-92) over Adolfo Castillo (12-5-2, 7 KOs) in a brutal brawl over ten rounds. A clash of heads in the first and third rounds caused a cut on the corner of the eye and center of the forehead of Velazquez. Castillo matched Velazquez’s energy with regard to heart and punch output but it was the Cancun native Velazquez who did enough to score the decision victory.
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