William Zepeda Seeks To Apply Calculated Pressure Against Lamont Roach

Tonight, at The Theater at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, William ‘El Camaron’ Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) seeks to capture his first world title when he takes on Lamont ‘The Reaper’ Roach Jr. (25-1-3, 10 KOs) for the vacant WBC lightweight championship.

A tough task considering the level of competition. Roach has demonstrated he has top-tier talent, having fought to draws against Gervonta Davis and Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz. Arguably, there are many who believe Roach won both of those fights. Given the result of his last two matches, Lamont will be game and ready to put on a career performance in hopes of becoming a two-division world champion.

William knows the difficulty of defeating Roach and what he must do to be victorious, saying, “It will be a great fight…a war. We have a difficult fight against a great opponent. We will come out and work towards that; we’ve prepared for it.” Lamont is a great counterpuncher who knows how to evade punches; he is among the top 8 in CompuBox’s plus/minus category at 12.1.

Zepeda’s fought difficult opponents before. Although he came up short against defensive mastermind Shakur Stevenson, he landed a total of 272 punches against him, which is the most by any Shakur opponent. Stevenson has the best plus/minus ratio in the sport at 23, but Zepeda still found the target. El Camaron’s output level is the highest in boxing with an average rate of 92.2 punches thrown per round, posing a defensive challenge for any fighter.

Having fought the best defensive boxer in the sport has taught Zepeda how to be a better boxer himself. He’s learned to be more tactical and measured. When asked how he intends to apply the pressure against Roach, he said the following, “Obviously we’re characterized as a pressure fighter, but I intend to be more calculated as he’s a great counterpuncher.”

When Roach fought against Pitbull, he struggled fighting inside the pocket; he was outlanded 69 to 61 in the first four rounds and also suffered the knockdown of his career. It wasn’t until he changed his strategy and began boxing and utilizing lateral movement that he began to have more success against Isaac.

If Lamont decides to stay in the pocket and trade with Zepeda as he did with Cruz, it will be much more damaging in this fight as El Camaron’s volume could overwhelm him.

In the taped face-off show “The Showdown” between Roach and Zepeda, they had a conversation whereby William makes it known to Lamont about how this fight may not be what he expects: “That day I feel he’s going to meet a new Camaron. He’s preparing for one version, but I believe he’s going to meet a new Camaron in many different aspects.”

This makes for an intriguing matchup where each fighter will adjust and strategize to gain the winning edge. The one who can execute their strategy the best is the one who will win.

Zepeda says he is much improved and looks to accomplish his career goal of becoming world champion; his effectiveness in applying pressure will be the determining factor.

‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4aC2L_6Yes