William Zepeda will be back in action against Giovanni Cabrera (22-1, 7 KOs) in a twelve-round headliner fight at lightweight this Saturday, July 6th, live on DAZN at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. The event begins at 8:00 p.m. ET.
(Photo credit: Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
Ranked #1 by all four alphabet-sanctioning bodies at lightweight, the Golden Boy-promoted William Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) against Cabrera (22-1, 7 KOs).
This isn’t the fight that Zepeda’s promoters wanted for him because they were hoping to get him a title shot against WBC 135-lb champion Shakur Stevenson, but that’s not happening. Cabrera, 29, is as good as it gets for Zepeda, so he must be satisfied for now.
Zepeda vs. Cabrera event Information
Start time: 8:00 p.m. ET on DAZN
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Zepeda, 28, looked incredible lately, dominantly beating these four fighters:
– Maxi Hughes: RTD 4
– Mercito Gesta: TKO 6
– Jaime Arboleda: KO 2
– Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz: UD 12
Zepeda is a bad style match-up for Cabrera because he doesn’t have much power, and he mostly boxes, looking to win decisions. He’s like a taller, less slick version of Maxi Hughes.
The Seattle, Washington native Cabrera is a pure boxer with excellent skills. He’s only been beaten once during his career, a close twelve-round split decision to Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz last July.
Cabrera dealt well with Pitbull Cruz’s pressure and was on the attack in the championship rounds, getting the better of the 5’4″ Mexican star. He could have won that fight if he’d started attacking Cruz earlier because he was the better fighter down the stretch.
Of all the fighters at 135, Zepeda has the best style to defeat WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson.
With the pressure and high work rate of Zepeda’s offense, it would be a really bad style for Shakur, and he would be forced to move more than any fight he’s had.
Unfortunately, that won’t work for him to get a decision against Zepeda unless it’s controversial, and you can’t rule that out.
Event Details
- Date: Saturday, July 6
- Start Time: 7 PM PDT (3 AM Sunday, BST)
- Streaming: DAZN
- Venue: Toyota Arena, Ontario, Calif.
Updated Fight Card:
- Main Event: William Zepeda vs. Giovanni Cabrera – 12 rounds, Lightweight
- Co-Main Event: Ricardo Sandoval vs. Angel Acosta – 10 rounds, Flyweight
- Undercard: Manuel Flores vs. Nohel Arambulet – 10 rounds, Super Bantamweight
- Undercard: Joel Iriarte vs. Yainel Alvarez – 6 rounds, Welterweight
- Prelims Headliner: Alex Martin vs. Pedro Campa – 10 rounds, Super Lightweight
- Prelims: Gael Cabrera vs. Mychaquell Shields – 4 rounds, Bantamweight
- Prelims: Joshua Garcia vs. Jason Buenaobra – 6 rounds, Super Featherweight
- Prelims: Anthony Saldivar vs. Roman Canto – 4 rounds, Super Welterweight
- Prelims: Daniel Luna vs. Joseph Walker – 4 rounds, Lightweight
- Prelims: Japhethlee Llamido vs. Ryan Allen – 8 rounds, Super Bantamweight