Lamont Roach insists he is not overlooking William Zepeda, but that has not stopped him from already envisioning what could come next at lightweight.
Roach is set to face Zepeda for the vacant WBC lightweight title on August 1 in Las Vegas, in what many view as the toughest assignment of his career. Yet while discussing the fight, the former WBA super featherweight champion confidently predicted not only victory, but a dominant one, before turning his attention to a potential showdown with IBF champion Raymond Muratalla.
“But now, after I beat Zepeda in dominant fashion, and we’re not overlooking him. Trust me, I’m training my ass off. Trust me, training my ass off. But if that were to line up, we would love to have that fight,” Roach said to InsideRingShow.
“I know that that fight will be probably for, you know, Ring Magazine or something like that. You know, it’s it’s it’s it’s a lot at stake, man. It’s a lot of stake at 135. And I just I just want to fulfill that for sure.”
Roach fought Gervonta Davis to a majority draw in March 2025 before moving up to light welterweight and battling Isaac Cruz to another draw. The 29-year-old now returns to lightweight seeking the vacant WBC title against Zepeda.
Muratalla is scheduled to defend his IBF lightweight title against Robson Conceicao on the same August 1 card. Victories for both champions would create another high-profile matchup in one of boxing’s deepest divisions.
Roach also revealed that Muratalla had previously emerged as a possible opponent before his eventual fight with Cruz.
“Even getting ready for Pit Bull, I think one of the options was Muratalla, and I think we reached out. I just don’t know what happened,” Roach said. “I’m not saying that, you know, people use the duck word too loosely. I just don’t know what happened.”
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Last Updated on 2026/06/11 at 5:32 PM
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