Lamont Roach Jnr and William Zepeda have been turned away by a referee, some judges and a generational talent in their recent pursuits of a world title.
Fighting each other for the WBC lightweight title August 1 in Las Vegas would go a long way toward clearing the pesky barriers – for at least one of them.
Confirming a first report by FightsATW, BoxingScene was told Friday that Washington’s former super-featherweight champion Roach, 25-1-3 (10 KOs), and Mexico’s recent title contender Zepeda, 33-1 (27 KOs), are in agreement to fight for the vacant WBC belt.
DAZN and TNT will broadcast the Golden Boy Promotions card.
Zepeda, 29, will be off for a year by the time the fight date arrives.
The Golden Boy fighter was defeated by unbeaten four-division champion Shakur Stevenson by unanimous-decision scores of 118-110, 118-110, 119-109 July 12 in New York.
Roach, who previously fought for Golden Boy and now fights under the ProBoxTV banner, has been far closer to winning a second belt, but was denied in March 2025, when referee Steve Willis failed to award him a knockdown of then-WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis at New York’s Barclays Center.
The deprived points proved crucial when the bout ended as a draw.
In December, Roach fought former 140lbs champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz to a majority draw in Texas, rallying on the scorecards and overcoming a third-round knockdown.
A final venue for August 1 has not been settled, according to two officials connected to the deal, but the ideal landing spot is Mandalay Bay.
