Coach Greg Hackett believes Tevin Farmer will defeat WBC interim lightweight champion William Zepeda in their rematch this Saturday, March 29th, live on DAZN from Cancun, Mexico. Zepeda won their previous fight by a ten-round split decision, but it was a close enough contest for Golden Boy to want to run it back to give Zepeda a chance to make it more conclusive.
Fight Details
Saturday’s Zepeda-Farmer 2 fight will be shown on DAZN, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET for the main card. The ring walks for Zepeda vs. Farmer 2 are around 11:00 p.m.ET.
Hackett wants Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) to get his shots off and then get away from Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) to prevent him from unloading on him with his volume punching. He thinks that’s where Farmer made a mistake in their previous fight last year on November 16th in Riyadh.
The former IBF super featherweight champion Farmer was shelling up too much and letting Zepeda unload on him with his combinations.
It was especially noticeable in the later rounds of the fight when Farmer got tired from the many body shots that Zepeda had hit him with throughout the contest. In the ninth and tenth, Farmer looked spent and completely worn out. That’s where he lost the fight.
“I feel good. I think Tevin will be even better in this fight. Tevin was fighting at home, just getting his gear back on,” said Coach Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media about Tevin Farmer, who is expected to do better in his rematch with WBC interim lightweight champion William Zepeda this Saturday night in Cancun.
“He got in there with [Raymond] Muratalla. He got edged out by Muratalla, but in the Zepeda fight, I thought he was definitely ready. Something happens with you when you get to see those levels again, especially being a guy that was already on that level. But when you stop fighting for a while, time goes by; you get a little rusty.’
Zepeda-Farmer II rematch is 12 rounds this time, and that could play in Zepeda’s favor because he was the stronger guy in the later rounds last time. With another two rounds to tire out the 34-year-old Farmer with body shots, Zepeda could score a knockout this time.
Prediction Time
“He came back and got to see that level,” said Hackett. “But being in there with Zepeda, and already seen it one time and immediately get back in there with a rematch, I think it’s going to be even better for him. I think we’re going to see a better Tevin Farmer in there on Saturday night, and this time, he’s going to get the call.”
Zepeda was the bigger puncher last time, and threw a lot of body shots that the judges in Riyadh ignored. That fight really wasn’t that close if you count all the body punches that were landed by Zepeda. That scoring was as good as it gets for Farmer because the fight is going to be in Mexico on Saturday, and those judges will factor in body shots.
“I’m being honest. I’m not being biased because we seen what he did in the first fight. There were some spots where Zepeda was allowed to do a little too much,” said Hackett. “I feel like Tevin has seen that once he’s looked back at the fight. There were spots where he let him do too much. He’s going to take that away from him in this fight, and put a little bit more on Zepeda. I loved the first fight.
“Every time you exchange with him, don’t let him continue to get off,” said Hackett on what Farmer must do to defeat Zepeda. “Don’t let him go to your body where you shell up, or starts throwing up top. When you throw your shots, get out of there and give him more of that left hand. That shot that put him down in the first fight.”
