To join Julio Cesar Chavez Snr and five other Mexican countrymen who have won a WBC lightweight title, William Zepeda would seemingly be in need of a fight-plan tweaking.
Then again, the relentless volume-punching style that pushed him to a 33-0 start doesn’t call for such a reinvention.
“It’ll be very beneficial for me to continue showing my power and ability the way I have in the past,” No. 1 contender Zepeda, 33-1 (27 KOs), told BoxingScene recently.
Yet, that charge-forward, pressure formula has been compromised in Zepeda’s past three fights, a two-fight series with former 130lbs champion Tevin Farmer and his first career loss one year ago this month to unbeaten four-division champion Shakur Stevenson.
The split-decision and majority decision triumphs over Farmer came before the wide loss on the scorecards to Stevenson.
“You can get overconfident with a fighter like Tevin Farmer. I learned a lot, like how each fight was different and I learned similar things from Shakur Stevenson,” Zepeda said through an interpreter.
He didn’t elaborate as to what, if any, changes are coming, however, as he heads to Saturday night’s main event of the new TNT/DAZN boxing showcase known as “The Fight,” at Virgin Hotels Resort Casino in Las Vegas.
Zepeda meets Washington’s Lamont Roach, 25-1-3 (10 KOs), a former super-featherweight world champion coming off consecutive draws to unbeaten three-division champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and current WBC interim 140lbs champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
Roach said bluntly that if Zepeda, 30, hasn’t changed at this point, it’s doubtful he’s going to Saturday.
But Roach’s boxing IQ and increased punching strength while moving up in weight makes him a force for Zepeda to consider if he indeed will install some adjustments.
Zepeda’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, also promoted the career of Roach for several years, and he’s not expecting anything subtle, casting the bout as a fight-of-the-year candidate.
Roach has proven his mettle versus the crushing punchers, going the distance in the past two draws, but he’s also schooled in the sport’s most artful techniques.
“I don’t see [Roach] as the loser in either of those wars, but I’m very confident in my abilities, and I’m going to show the world that I’ll be the winner,” Zepeda said.
“A lot of the fighters come with that plan [to box], but as soon as the fight starts, it’s overwhelming for them to deal with the volume of punches I throw. It completely throws off their plans, and I’m confident I can do that again.”
IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla makes the second defense of his belt in the Saturday co-main event versus former super-featherweight champion Robson Conceicao amid the possibility that the winners will fight next.
Zepeda admitted he’s more enamored with the attempt to join Chavez, Chango Carmona, Rodolfo Gonzalez, Jose Luis Ramirez, Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Cesar Bazan as Mexican champions of the Mexico-based WBC.
“Of course I visualize myself as a world champion, and I cannot wait for the day I join the list,” he said.
