Tonight, a pair of rematches headline cards on live on DAZN and ESPN. William Zepeda aims to make an improvement on his performance against a wily old vet in Tevin Farmer. That same night, Mikaela Mayer goes to battle in the 2nd act of a fun fight, taking on Sandy Ryan. Heading into the William Zepeda vs. Tevin Farmer fight most of the attention focused on what was supposed to be next.
A fight with Shakur Stevenson had been pushed back and ultimately never happened after Farmer rose to the occasion. Prior to her fight with Sandy Ryan, Mikaela Mayer had come up on the short end of the scorecards against Alycia Baumgardner and Natasha Jonas. In her scrap with Ryan, it was Mayer getting the nod in a competitive affair.
Let’s begin with Mayer vs Ryan part 2. Mayer won a majority decision with two of the judges’ cards reading 96-94 and 97-93. Mayer got off to a much faster start than she did in those two recent losses. To no surprise, Mayer was the more active boxer, landing to the body at a higher clip. Sandy was more accurate with her jabs and overall punches. Mayer will need to establish a jab that lands at an improved percentage this time around. Ryan could stand to land more meaningful power shots.
The first time was a great back-and-forth fight that could’ve been a draw. This boxing podcaster believes Mikaela Mayer has the advantage in work rate and the ability to bang on the inside and box on the outside. The betting odds are as close as it gets: –112, -110, -115, and only one that I saw had Mayer as a +100. Although we should expect another tight contest, look for Mayer to land the cleaner and more telling punches enough to pull off this victory.
My Official Prediction is Mikaela Mayer by Split-Decision.
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The second round between Tevin Farmer and William Zepeda is crucial for both boxers. From the Farmer perspective, a win on Saturday would secure his short-term future, assuming he would be a solid opponent for a fighter in their prime or a true test for a top prospect/contender. A name like Keyshawn Davis may come to light as a great payday for Farmer at this stage of his career.
A loss for William Zepeda would be devasting to an extent anyways. Having already been knocked down in their first meeting, if Zepeda came up short, William and his team would have to go back to the drawing board, taking a major step back. Obviously, that would kill a possible matchup with Shakur Stevenson. The fact that Zepeda got dropped in the fourth round and the pressure for him to clearly win the rematch, tells me we will see a fully focused boxer on fight night.
Farmer will have to fight the way he did in a few of the early rounds along with the last two rounds. In those rounds, Farmer matched not only activity {which he likely will never for a full fight} but also clean punches for the world to see. Look for Zepeda to rinse in repeat most of what he did the first time. Obviously, he can’t afford to get dropped again. The betting odds favor Zepeda by a landslide which this boxing junkie assumed it wouldn’t be that wide. As it stands on Thursday, Tevin Farmer is slated anywhere from +450 up to +550. Although Zepeda should be the favorite putting a little something on the underdog is a good bet. Pairing it with Zepeda by decision for +124 and/or -119 Zepeda by KO is an interesting angle as well.
My Official Prediction is William Zepeda by Unanimous Decision.
Side Note: On the undercards, Valle vs Esparza on DAZN should be a two-way fight. Bruce Carrington vs. Enrique Vivas and Brian Norman Jr. vs. Derrieck Cuevas on ESPN.
Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, I-Heart Radio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadi
