The WBC’s decision to match William Zepeda against Lamont Roach Jr. for the vacant lightweight title raises a larger issue than who deserves the spot. It calls into doubt the purpose of the organization’s interim championship.
When Shakur Stevenson was stripped after moving to light welterweight, the WBC already had an interim champion in Jadier Herrera. Under a traditional championship structure, Herrera would have appeared to hold the strongest claim to the open belt, either through elevation to full champion or by competing for the title against another top contender.
Instead, the WBC ordered Zepeda against Roach, leaving Herrera to wait for the winner.
That decision is difficult to reconcile with the role secondary belts are supposed to serve. If a secondary titleholder is not first in line once the main championship becomes open, the value of winning that belt becomes harder to define.
Roach accepted the offer placed in front of him, as most fighters would. The issue is not the fighter. It is the process.
Roach now heads into his fourth world title fight in roughly two and a half years. He challenged Gervonta Davis for the WBA lightweight title before receiving another shot at belt status against Isaac Cruz at light welterweight despite never campaigning at 140 pounds. He now returns to lightweight for another chance following consecutive draws.
Meanwhile, Herrera remains on the outside despite holding the WBC interim strap.
The contrast reflects a broader change within boxing. Major bouts are increasingly driven by commercial appeal and recognizable names rather than a logical progression through divisional rankings. Lamont Roach is not the first example, and he almost certainly will not be the last.
That leaves the WBC with a difficult question to answer: why create an interim champion if he doesn’t receive the first opportunity at the vacant belt? If an interim champion does not receive priority when the primary title becomes open, what purpose does the belt actually serve?
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Last Updated on 2026/07/27 at 4:35 PM
