Maxi Hughes is confident that he’ll defeat William Zepeda on March 16th in their IBF lightweight title eliminator.
#5 Hughes (26-5-2, 9 KOs) and #6 Zepeda (29-0, 25 KOs) are meeting to determine the mandatory challenger for the winner of the Vasily Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos Jr. fight for the vacant IBF 135-lb title on May 11th in Perth, Australia.
Hughes, 33, says people have doubted his chances in many of his fights, most recently against former unified lightweight champion Kambosos Jr. last July, but he keeps proving them wrong. He plans on doing the same against the unbeaten Zepeda.
Many boxing fans felt Hughes deserved the win against Kambosos Jr. last July in Oklahoma, but it wasn’t to be. He had the right approach, boxing Kambosos from the outside, picking him off with shots, but the judges didn’t see value in how he fought.
It would be a mistake for the 33-year-old Hughes to get in the trenches and trade with the hard-hitting, high-volume puncher Zepeda because he’s too relentless, and he’ll get chewed up like the Mexican brawler’s last opponent, Mercito Gesta.
“It’s a tough fight, but they’re all tough. This is the toughest level of boxing. This is the one before a world title,” said Maxi Hughes to Boxing Social about his March 16th contest against William Zepeda in an IBF lightweight title eliminator.
“I’m confident. I’m not being given much chance, but what’s new? George Kambosos was going to kill me. Great. Keep the energy coming because I’ll just prove you all wrong again,” Hughes said about his being doubted.
Zepeda, 27, is a much tougher fight than Kambosos Jr. because his offense is on another level, and he won’t let up for an instant on March 16th. Hughes will need to find a way to outbox Zepeda, as he’s not equipped to trade with this kind of fighter.
“I can do a job on Zepeda, and they’ll go, ‘Zepeda wasn’t that good anyway.’ He’s a very good fighter. He deserves to be in the position he’s in like myself. I think Jojo Diaz is the biggest name on his record,” said Hughes.
“I think he’s fought a former super featherweight world champion [Rene Alvarado in 2022], but he went the distance with him. That kid gave him a lot of problems,” said Hughes.
Zepeda almost lost to the veteran Alvarado in 2022 in a close fight.
