Philadelphia born and bred fighter Tevin Farmer made his ring walk on enemy soil wearing a sombrero and was announced to a serenade of boos ahead of his rematch on Saturday in Cancun, Mexico against native son William Zepeda.

Farmer’s confidence was on full display, and rightfully so, following a narrow split decision defeat to Zepeda in which he knocked down the Mexican in November.

But after suffering a left arm injury in the second round, Farmer traded conviction for courage and sought to pull a rabbit out of his hat, as the volume-punching Zepeda’s relentless and overwhelming aggression paid off for a majority decision win.

With the win, Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) retained his WBC interim lightweight title and is now in line to face Shakur Stevenson, the WBC’s full lightweight champion since 2023. The sequel headlined a Golden Boy Promotions card on DAZN.

Judges scored the contest 116-112 and 115-113 in favor of Zepeda, while a third judge had it 114-114.

Zepeda landed 344 of 974 punches while Farmer countered with 152 of 679, but judges deemed the complicated clash closer than what the punch stats proved. Zepeda outlanded Farmer in every round except the 12th as Farmer tried to pull off the come-from-behind win.

After essentially becoming a one-handed fighter, the gritty and gutsy Farmer (33-8-1, 8 KOs) weathered the onslaught and had some sneaky and solid moments, but the sharp shots were few and far between to fend off the hard-charging Zepeda.

"It was a great challenge and he was even more difficult this time," Zepeda said in the ring following the win. "I thank him for the opportunity to go 22 rounds with him. I knew he was a tough fighter and I am glad we gave a great show."

Zepeda’s swarming style and torrid, pressure-packed pace rattled Farmer with less than a minute to go in the second, as Zepeda unleashed 124 punches and landed 42 of them – 23 of which were to the body. Farmer was visibly bothered by an injury at the end of the round, which was later labeled as a left hand and elbow injury.

Zepeda, ranked No. 5 by The Ring at 135 pounds, maintained his high offensive output in the third. In the fourth round, Farmer unleashed consecutive head-rattling uppercuts to the chin of Zepeda and followed it up with two more lefts to the head. But he was outlanded in the round, 33 to nine. When he headed to the corner, he shook his arm again, had an extended conversation, and took a long time to sit down on his stool.

Zepeda was all over Farmer in the fifth, as he unloaded with 118 punches and landed with a fight-high 52 shots. But the valiant and fiery Farmer bobbed and weaved with the punches, and connected with another sneaky uppercut right before the bell sounded.

By the sixth round, Farmer, a former 130-pound title holder and The Ring’s No. 10-rated lightweight, busted the nose of Zepeda and drew blood, but it was the immensely active Zepeda who did more.

Zepeda outworked Farmer in the seventh and eighth rounds and frustrated his fatigued counterpart in the ninth, as Farmer collapsed to the canvas. Referee Mike Griffin ruled it a slip, and Farmer recuperated with a flurry to survive the round while continuing to demand respect from Zepeda.

The durable and fascinating Farmer still showed a solid account of himself in the championship rounds and won the stanzas. Looking to muster a miracle, the southpaw Farmer appeared to knock down his fellow lefty Zepeda with a clubbing left hand, but Griffin ruled the sequence a slip.

Zepeda was clearly rattled yet game, and engaged in a brawl all the way to the final bell to accomplish what he couldn’t in the first fight – and that was scoring a clearer victory.

"Nothing against Zepeda; he's a fighter and doesn't make the scorecards," said Farmer. "I have nothing against him. He's probably one of the toughest fighters in the division because of his output. If you can't keep up with his output or can't hurt him badly, he will pressure you.

"It's pointless for me to talk about the hand. I have respect for the fighters, I have no respect for boxing ... Whether you had Zepeda or myself, it was still a hell of a fight. I dominated all of the last rounds, at least five of the last rounds. The first seven were a little rocky ... At this point, I don't know what's going to happen. I can't keep going into camp and then not getting the decision and getting robbed. I am not going to lie. The last fight was closer than this fight."