Mexican retains WBC 'interim' lightweight title in tough fight
William Cepeda – Tevin Farmer, photo – Getty Images
“Interim” WBC lightweight champion William Cepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) defeated American Tevin Farmer (33-8-1, 8 KOs) in a tense rematch. The fight took place in Cancun, Mexico.
Farmer found himself in a difficult position from the second round, tripping and getting hurt. Cepeda increased the pace and outboxed his opponent in the first half. Gradually the fight evened out, and in the sixth round the American managed to cut William's nose.
The second half of the fight was a mixed bag for both fighters. In the final round, Farmer was more active, but he failed to score a knockdown.
The Mexican fighter won by majority decision. Two referees scored the fight for Zepeda – 116-112 and 115-113, while another judged it a draw – 114:114.
In his previous fight, Cepeda also won a split decision over Tevin to become the mandatory challenger for the WBC lightweight title. In that fight, William injured his hand and was unable to fight WBC belt holder Shakur Stevenson.