William Zepeda and Lamont Roach Jnr are prepared to move forward with their head-on collision.
While a firm date is not yet established, BoxingScene has learned that the abovementioned vacant WBC 135lbs title fight is tentatively eyed for June. The development comes as Golden Boy Promotions signed a multi-year extension with DAZN, which provides greater flexibility in getting the fight over the line – having a choice of fight dates, rather than wait on the first available.
The matchup pits the WBC’s two-highest ranked contenders in a bid to fill the void left behind by Shakur Stevenson, 25-0 (11 KOs), the four-division champ and current lineal, RING and WBO king. Zepeda, 33-1 (27 KOs) is the WBC’s No. 1 contender at 135lbs; Roach, 25-1-3 (10 KOs) is No. 2.
Stevenson’s reign began in November 2023 but ended in a bitter dispute with the WBC over non-payment surrounding his permitted challenge of then-140lbs champ Teofimo Lopez on January 31 in New York City.
The vacancy will now be filled by two action fighters, despite the fact that neither will have posted a win in more than a year come fight night.
Mexico’s Zepeda has not fought since his own defeat to Stevenson in their title consolidation bout last July 12 in Queens, New York. Still, he maintained the top slot in the WBC 135lbs rankings. The southpaw was the interim titlist at the time and – while forcing Stevenson to fight out of his comfort zone – fell well short on the scorecards in his first crack at a major title.
Zepeda previously claimed a secondary version of the WBC interim belt in a November 2024 win over Tevin Farmer. It required his having to survive his first career knockdown to prevail via disputed decision. Their March 2025 rematch saw Zepeda earn a 12-round, majority decision in his most recent win to date.
Roach went all of 2025 without a win, though both of his fights on the year left the talented boxer from the greater D.C. area in higher demand than ever before.
The former WBA 130lbs titlist fought to a draw in back-to-back contests, beginning with his clash with then-WBA 135lbs titleholder Gervonta “Tank” Davis last March 1 in Brooklyn, New York.
Roach was essentially cheated out of a win when referee Steve Willis badly blew what should have been a knockdown call in the 9th round. Davis went to a knee after complaining of a substance in his eye, though the sequence took place immediately after Roach landed a punch. The unbeaten boxer was essentially permitted a timeout, a development which sparked industry-wide rage.
Davis hasn’t fought since that night, even leaving Roach on read when it came time to finalize their planned rematch last summer. Roach was at least rewarded with another high-profile assignment when he faced WBC interim 140lbs titlist Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz last December 6 in San Antonio, Texas.
Their PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view headliner saw Roach recover from a 3rd round knockdown and seemingly outbox Cruz – who was deducted a point in Round 7 for excessive holding and hitting.
Still, Roach did not manage to win on a single scorecard in that bout or the one with Davis.
His effort in both contests was enough for the WBC to agree to assign a lofty ranking, upon his commitment to return and campaign at lightweight.
Whenever the fight takes place, the winner will have to next face interim titlist Jadier Herrera, 18-0 (16 KOs) per a prior WBC ruling. The terms were conditional for Zepeda and Roach – who already agreed to terms – to jump over the unbeaten Cuban, who knocked out Ricardo Nuñez in the 8th round to win the secondary title on January 10 in Oberhausen, Germany.
