Boxing News
All make weight: Lightweight title doubleheader is a go in Vegas
Jul 31, 2026 • 1:52 PM ET
Dylan Trevino/ Premier Boxing ChampionsLAS VEGAS – A lightweight title fight perceived as a 50-50 match witnessed no separation Friday when both Lamont Roach Jnr and William Zepeda weighed in a 134.6lbs for their main-event bout atop the TNT/DAZN card, “The Fight,” at Virgin Hotels Resort Casino.
Roach, 25-1-3 (10 KOs), a former junior-lightweight champion coming off consecutive draws versus WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and WBC interim 140lbs champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, is only a slight -132 betting favorite over Mexico’s Zepeda, 33-1 (27 KOs).
Washington’s Roach is considered the superior boxer, but Zepeda’s volume power punching provides an advantage given his knockout ratio as he follows a WBC lightweight title loss to unbeaten four-division champion Shakur Stevenson one year ago this month.
IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla, 24-0 (17 KOs), also weighed 134.6lbs for his second consecutive title defense against an Olympic gold medalist as Brazil’s Robson Conceicao, 21-3-1 (10 KOs), needed to shed his underwear to reach the 135lbs limit.
Washington’s Roach grasps the magnitude of the event, knowing Zepeda once was a consensus No. 1 contender among all four sanctioning bodies.
“Once the opportunity came for us to fight for the WBC title, we were all for it,” Roach said at Thursday’s news conference as a ceremonial weigh-in arrives early Friday afternoon.
“What I present in the ring is a bundle of skills, I have a ton of will, a heart like a lion and cajones like Godzilla. It’s a hell of a clash.”
Zepeda said he had “goosebumps” seeing the belt from Mexico-based WBC Thursday.
“It’s going to be a war on Saturday. We can’t wait,” he said.
In other fights:
Welterweight-10 rounds
Raul Curiel 148.2lbs (overweight, fight on, no NABF title) vs. Quinton Randall 146.8lbs
Junior-middleweight-10 rounds
Charles Conwell 153.8lbs vs. Paul Kroll 154lbs
Super-lightweight-4 rounds
Dylan Capetillo 136.6lbs vs. Juan Carlos Becerril 137lbs
Welterweight-8 rounds
Joel Iriarte 147lbs vs. Jorge Lagunas 145.2lbs
Middleweight-8 rounds
Fabian Guzman 159.2lbs vs. Aaron Coley 159lbs
Bantamweight-8 rounds
Gael Cabrera 122.6lbs vs. Francisco Pedroza Portillo 122lbs
Lightweight-6 rounds
Dalis Kaleiopu 129.2lbs vs. Yeyery Castillo 132.8lbs
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
