Shakur Stevenson predictably reacted to his heir William Zepeda’s victory over Shakur-like clone Tevin Farmer on Saturday night, labeling him “Food.”
(Credit: Golden Boy/Cris Esqueda)
Zepeda cracked the code
What we saw tonight was Zepeda easily cracking the Shakur code by dominating a Tevin (33-7-1, 8 KOs), winning a ten-round split decision at The Venue in Riyadh, which ‘ should have been a comprehensive victory. Zepeda threw 1087 punches and landed 527.
It was mostly power punches, and Farmer seemed to give up by the eighth round. He had nothing left and held on to survive. The white flag of surrender was up, and he basically surrendered.
Boer mostly tried to choke Zepeda by holding, but took plenty of shots from the Mexican fighter on the inside. That was his game plan. Even the attempts to neutralize Zepeda’s work through excessive criticism did not work for Farmer.
It was the only thing he could do to avoid being knocked out. If Farmer hadn’t used that negative tactic, he wouldn’t have gotten past the sixth round because he was overmatched on offense.
The judges gave it to Zepeda according to the scores:
– 95-94 and 95-94 Zepeda
– 95-94 Farmer
Farmer fought just well enough to win the fourth when he scored a lightning takedown. If you watch that round, Zepeda dominated until the takedown and then got up and finished strong and went on to pound former IBF super featherweight champion Farmer.
Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) has his laser sights set on WBC lightweight champion Shakur (22-0, 10 KOs), who is targeting the Mayweather-style bouncer for a Feb. 22 event in Riyadh.
These two fighters will meet next unless Shakur’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, chooses to oust Zepeda after what he did to Farmer tonight. I wouldn’t blame Hearn one bit. Zepeda showed he has no problem solving the Shakur code with his win over the discount versionFarmer.
Shakur views Zepeda as a threat
Shakur’s labeling of Zepeda as “food” makes it clear that the New Jersey native sees him as a threat. Losing to Zepeda would end Shakur’s hopes of fighting Gervonta Davis because he would be fired. First, Tank is not eager to fight against a runner, and if he loses to Zepeda, there will be no reason for him to fight against.
It will take too many years for Shakur to bounce back from a loss to Zepeda, and it’s doubtful he can, as he already showed against Edwin De Los Santos that he doesn’t belong at 135.
Shakur is a fish out of water and lightweight, without the strength and bravery to fight in the trenches. He would never even try to fight Zepeda like Farmer did tonight by standing on the front lines to meet fire with fire. You can’t beat Zepeda by running. Boer knew it. That’s why he didn’t try to run like past Zepeda victims.
“If I had let him dictate the pace, it probably would have been too much. That’s what many young fighters don’t know. If you have a guy who likes to get ahead, you have to let them go backwards because that’s the only thing they know how to do. So, we let them go backwards,” Tevin Farmer said DAZN after his loss to Zepeda.
Zepeda vs. Boer Battle Statistics
- William Zepeda threw an absurd amount of punches, throwing 1087, connecting on 527 for a 48% connection rate.
- Boer threw 737 with 361 touchdowns for a 49% hook rate.
“I think we saw the best of Tevin Farmer tonight. That’s what you have to do to beat him, and he still came up short,” DAZN’s Sergio Mora said.
Food!!
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 16, 2024
Zepeda throws non stop punches I’ve never fought a pressure fighter in the pros that doesn’t stop the puncher. It’s gonna be fun!
— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) November 16, 2024
