William Zepeda vs Lamont Roach Jr. announced for the WBC lightweight title

William Zepeda vs Lamont Roach Jr. for the WBC lightweight championship

Mexican world title contender William Zepeda Segura (33-1, 27 KOs) will face Lamont Roach Jr. (25-1-3, 10 KOs) for the WBC lightweight title on August 1 in Las Vegas, live on DAZN .

Washington's former WBA super-featherweight champion, 'The Reaper' Roach, hasn't won in two years, since defeating Irish hero Feargal McCrory in June 2024.

In March 2025, he controversially drew with undefeated lightweight sensation Gervonta Davis , then was forced to settle for yet another draw in December against Isaac Cruz in their WBC Interim super-lightweight clash.

30-year-old Zepeda from Mexico has lost just once in his 10-year pro career to Shakur Stevenson in his last fight in July 2025. He was decisioned widely, winning just two rounds on two of the scorecards and only one round on the third judge's card.

Prior to that, the southpaw had defeated Tevin Farmer twice.

The WBC lightweight title is currently vacant after Shakur Stevenson moved up. The green and gold belt at 135lbs has been in the hands of American for almost seven years, held by Shakur since November 2023 and Devin Haney since November 2019. Before those two U.S. stars it belonged to boxing legend Vasiliy Lomachenko. Other notable holders includes Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.

DID YOU KNOW? The inaugural WBC World lightweight champion was Puerto Rican Carlos Ortiz after he defeated Douglas Vaillant in 1963 by dropping the Cuban five times to finally stop him in the 13th round.