Undefeated William Zepeda tangles with former IBO champion Maxi Hughes in a 12-round IBF and WBA lightweight title eliminator bout scheduled for Saturday, March 16 in Las Vegas. With 25 of his 29 wins by knockout, Zepeda has emerged as a massive -900 favorite on the opening betting line. In his last four fights Zepeda has taken out former featherweight champs Rene Alvarado and Joseph Diaz and most recently scored a TKO against former world title contender Mercito Gesta last September.
Coming off a decision loss to George Kambosos where he conceded the IBO lightweight belt, Hughes is primed for another shot at a championship run, and considering he’s in his mid-30s with a lot of punishment taken in the ring, this is likely his last go. Listed at +545 on the opening line, the odds are not in his favor, but that won’t deter Hughes. Unfortunately he hasn’t fared well in bigger bouts with all six of his defeats coming in fights with some sort of title on the line.
William Zepeda vs. Maxi Hughes Betting Odds
William Zepeda Segura -900
Maxi Hughes +545
The 12-round lightweight title elimination fight between William Zepeda ( 29-0, 25 KOs ) and Maxi Hughes ( 26-6-2, 5 KOs ) will take place on Saturday, March 16, 2024 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nev. The fight can be seen on DAZN.
William Zepeda vs. Maxi Hughes Fight Preview
It’s easy to see why Zepeda is such a heavy favorite. His resume is spotless with victories over several top-notch opponents paving the way to this title elimination fight. We caught a glimpse of what was to come early in his career when Zepeda floored each of his first three opponents in fewer than three rounds, displaying the powerful blasts that led him to KO rate of better than 86 percent.
In his first scheduled 12-round fight, Zepeda stopped Juan Pablo Borbon in the third round to claim the WBF Mexican lightweight strap. In March 2019 he earned his second title besting Eliot Chavez to claim the vacant WBC FECARBOX silver lightweight title. After one successful title defense and three non-title wins, Zepeda was on the radar in the U.S. He debuted in the States in November 2020 scoring a fifth round KO of Roberto Ramiriez earning a shot at the vacant WBA Continental Americas lightweight title against undefeated prospect Hector Tanajara Jr.
Zepeda emerged victorious in that fight claiming the belt when his opponent’s corner stopped the proceedings ahead of the seventh round. Zepeda inflicted heavy damage with powerful body shots that rendered Tanajara useless. In May 2022, Zepeda scored a unanimous decision over former WBA super featherweight champ Rene Alvarado in what most pundits considered the most difficult of his fights to date. Testing his limits with more quality opponents, Zepeda had a UD over JoJo Diaz in 2022.
It’s hard to know how much damage being in 33 professional fights can inflict. What makes things more interesting is that 24 of those fights went the distance. Despite the number of blows received, and delivered, Hughes continues to fight and do well. Following a UD loss to Liam Walsh for the vacant WBO European lightweight title in 2019, Hughes proceeded to win his next seven bouts with five of them going the distance.
In the span of three fights Hughes won three different titles getting the WBC international lightweight belt with a UD over Kiktor Kotochigov in October 2020. Five months later he won the vacant British lightweight title with an 8th round TKO of Paul Hyland Jr. Six months after that he claimed the IBO lightweight belt with a decision against Jovanni Straffon. Hughes got revenge on the Walsh family with a UD over Liam’s twin Ryan in his first title defense. Most recently in a spirited bout, Hughes lost the IBO belt in a majority decision to former unified lightweight champ George Kambosos.
Bet William Zepeda vs. Maxi Hughes
We’ve covered a number of fights like this with one boxer heavily favored. And like I said in the others there’s not much value backing the favorite. With Zepeda’s price off the chart you have to move the odds in your favor by going with a round and/or method of victory. Or you can back the underdog and hope for a big upset. Hughes doesn’t have knockout power making it less likely for him to get the win so instead back Zepeda with an early round KO for the best value.
Boxing Odds Pick: William Zepeda / TKO
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