Maxi Hughes and William Zepeda are in negotiations for a possible IBF lightweight final eliminator on March 16 in Las Vegas.
This is a tough matchup for IBF No. 5 contender Hughes (26-6-2, 5 KOs) because he is not a big puncher and is coming off a loss to George Kambosos Jr. in July, although it was a controversial fight. .
The winner of the Hughes-Zepeda fight, if it happens, will decide the mandatory fight for the winner Vasily Lomachenko-George Kambosos Jr. They are fighting for the vacant IBF lightweight title in April. Devin Haney recently vacated the belt.
On paper, this is a sure win for Zepeda (29-0, 25 KOs) because he is too big, too powerful and too busy for Hughes, who is a very mobile type of fighter. Zepeda will catch up to Hughes and knock him down like he did with his last opponent, Mercito Gesta.
“As he’s a lightweight and being heavily promoted by Golden Boy, I’ve seen him over the last few years, so I know exactly what he’s about,” Hughes told ProBox TV about Zepeda.
“What you see is what you get. He’s an aggressive, high-volume, come-forward puncher. He’s left-handed but he’s not a clumsy left-hander like me. He doesn’t make it difficult. He comes at you.”
Zepeda has been making slow progress throughout his nine-year professional career, but he is finally on the verge of putting himself in a position to fight for a world title. Recently, Zepeda has defeated these fighters:
– Mercito Gesta: TKO 6 – Jaime Arboleda: KO 2 – Joseph Diaz: UD 12 – René Alvarado: UD
Zepeda received criticism from boxing fans for allegedly turning down a fight against Shakur Stevenson, which would have given him much-needed attention for his career.
In retrospect, Zepeda should have taken the fight against Shakur because he could have won if he could have caught him.
