A new champion will be crowned in what has the makings of a Fight of the Year contender when Lamont Roach Jr and William Zepeda go to war for the vacant WBC lightweight title at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time), writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
Lamont Roach Jr (1.67) vs William Zepeda (2.09) (Vacant WBC Lightweight Championship)
Sunday, August 2, 5:00 AM SAST
Elite fighters with impeccable records will lay it all on the line in this weekend’s mouth-watering matchup, scheduled for 12 rounds, to ensure they turn heart-breaking recent setbacks into the sweetest of victories.
Roach, in particular, will empty the tank and look to take the judges out of the equation after the screw job that was his WBA lightweight championship showdown against Gervonta Davis last month.
A battle of promise-rich amateurs turned world champions, Roach fought a perfect fight inside the Barclays Center in New York but was controversially denied a knockdown by referee Steve Willis.
The decision was devastating to Roach, robbing him of a second world title and the bragging rights of ending Davis’ undefeated streak as the bout was ruled a majority draw.
With “Tank” ending up in more legal troubles outside of the squared circle, a rematch was not forthcoming, forcing Roach to move on. The 30-year-old’s frustrations continued in December when he fought former 140-pound champion Isaac Cruz to a majority draw in Texas, rallying after overcoming a third-round knockdown.
A former WBA super featherweight champion, “The Reaper” is fed up with the judges and is out to leave no doubt that he’s the better man when he battles Zepeda in the fight capital of the world.
Roach’s record stands at 25-1-3 with 10 knockouts, with his only loss coming on the scorecards to Jamel Herring in 2019. A tactician with tremendous fight IQ, he has magnificent movement, fast combinations and reflexes, the latter of which makes him a sharp counter-puncher.
Zepeda is hell-bent on putting his last performance behind him and breaking through. The Mexican marauder mowed down every man that was put in front of him before he finally met his match in unbeaten four-division champion Shakur Stevenson, who defeated him by unanimous decision in New York last July.
How Zepeda responds to his first pro loss adds another intriguing layer to an already fascinating fight that promises to produce fireworks. In contrast to Roach, “El Camarón” is a natural-born killer in the ring, with 27 of his 33 wins coming by knockout.
A former WBC interim lightweight champion, this is his second straight shot at becoming a true king of the sweet science. He’s a perpetual pursuer, always coming forward and firing off shots at a very high volume. That relentlessness is fuelled by phenomenal conditioning and has melted many a man.
Zepeda has the size and power advantage and if he is to prevail, he will most likely have to do it early. It’s not impossible but highly improbable that he wins a decision as Roach is the faster and more sophisticated pure boxer.
That, coupled with Roach’s composure under pressure and counter-punching ability, should see the American ascend to the 135-pound throne.
Quintin van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 20 years of experience.
