Golden Boy Promotions chief Oscar De La Hoya heaped lofty praise on William Zepeda during a press conference Thursday, building up the rematch against Tevin Farmer on Saturday for the WBC interim lightweight title in Cancun, Mexico.

“William puts on a tremendous show every single time. He reminds me of Salvador Sanchez,” said De La Hoya. “He's a fighter who throws a lot of punches, has beautiful skill, and comes forward with a lot of heart and desire. Farmer put on a tremendous show. He's one of those throwback fighters who is always ready. We had to make it happen once again. I truly feel we have one of those fight of the year candidates.”

Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) faced off on November 16 during Golden Boy's Latino Night show in Saudi Arabia. Zepeda was supposed to cruise past Famer in order to move to his long-planned fight against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, but the performance showed that “Camaron” still needs some more seasoning.

The southpaw knockout artist Zepeda was instead the one getting dropped in the hotly contested 10-round bout and was fortunate to walk away with a split decision victory via scores of 95-94 and 95-94. Farmer was awarded a scorecard of 95-94 by a third judge. Zepeda was a lot more active in the contest, however, connecting with 259 of 778 punches compared to 193 of 587 shots from Farmer.

The 28-year-old southpaw from Mexico sustained a left arm injury in the fight as well, further indicating that he wouldn’t be ready to face Stevenson in their scrap, which was scheduled for February 22.

“It was a very tough test. It was 10 rounds worth of war,” said Zepeda, ranked No. 5 by The Ring at 135 pounds. “I learned that I need to step up. It wasn't a lesson just for me. It was a lesion for everybody, that we are not just supposed to let things go. I took the lesson and I will implement it on Saturday.

“This is a very exciting fight for me. I finally found someone who can go toe-to-toe with me. Even though I was knocked down, I went round for round to get the win with the chances and opportunities that I had. I am really excited to show an explosive version of myself and work hard to get the win. I'm going to make sure I win on March 29.”