‘No excuses’: Roach reflects on Zepeda defeat as WBC lightweight challenge slips away

On August 1, at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Lamont Roach Jr. vs William Zepeda headlined a Golden Boy Promotions card, co-promoted with TGB Promotions and ProBox Promotions. The entire card took place live on TNT and truTV, and worldwide on DAZN, with the vacant WBC lightweight title on the line. It was an entertaining fight at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, with Zepeda’s work rate proving too much for “The Reaper.” After that entertaining main event, Roach spoke to Fight Hub TV, giving his honest reaction to the defeat.

William Zepeda defeats Lamont Roach Jr to capture WBC crown

Roach (25-2-3, 10 KOs) began brightly, picking his punches well in the first couple of rounds, but gradually the speed and work rate of William Zepeda (34-1, 27 KOs) wore him down. As the fight progressed, the volume from the Mexican never wavered, and he took over in the middle rounds.

Roach did have pockets of success, but he failed to put enough together to slow Zepeda down or make him second-guess his next move, like Tevin Farmer and Shakur Stevenson had done previously.

Once Zepeda switched to the body, the American looked to struggle with those shots in particular. “Camaron” maintained his work rate until the final bell, deservedly winning by unanimous decision, with judges’ scorecards of 118-110 and 117-111 (x2).

Roach reflects on William Zepeda loss

Speaking to Fight Hub TV after his unanimous decision loss to William Zepeda for the vacant WBC lightweight title, Roach gave his honest reaction:

“Tonight wasn’t my best night. But no excuses. Hats off to Zepeda. They came prepared. When all else fails, you fight. And that’s what I did.

“My timing was a little off. I was throwing one big shot, and they was capitalising with the work rate, so it was just a lot of things that were a little off, and on top of that, he was punching.”

It remains to be seen where Roach goes from here. He was unlucky against Gervonta Davis and Isaac Pitbull Cruz, but was beaten fair and square against William Zepeda.

Featured Image Credit:

GOLDEN BOY / CRIS ESQUEDA