Lamont Roach Jr Reveals Reason for William Zepeda Loss

A tough night for the DMV native after he comes up short following two draws

Lamont Roach vowed to return after WBC title loss | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Washington native Lamont Roach Jr.'s bid to capture one of boxing's most prestigious titles fell short in a defeat Saturday night against Mexico's William Zepeda.

William Zepeda (34-1, 27 KOs) defeated Lamont Roach Jr. (25-2-3, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision on August 1, 2026, at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas to capture the vacant WBC lightweight title. The scorecards were 118-110 and 117-111 twice.

"I am a Mexican, but I had an American dream to come to Las Vegas and become a world champion," said Zepeda in his post-fight TV interview on DAZN.

William Zepeda bounced back from Shakur Stevenson to win WBC lightwieght title. | Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images.

Zepeda buries his opponents with sheer volume of punches; it's a style that has not changed much throughout his career. It was his footwork, though, as much as the volume of his punches, that allowed the "El Camaron" to win on Saturday. He was able to be just elusive enough to avoid many of Roach Jr.'s counterpunches.

Lamont Roach's reason why he lost

"Coming into the fight. We thought he was a one-trick pony. He actually used his feet; as you can see, he was stepping back and countering and not allowing me to get my counters off."

Roach, a former WBA world title holder at featherwieght, came into the fight off of two consecutive draws in world title fights. This time there was no refereeing blunder, disputed knockdown or controversial scorecard for Lamont Roach Jr. to protest Saturday night.

Roach has been better each outing and was growing into his power, which made him a favorite going into this fight despite failing to win in his previous outings against Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz and Gervonta Davis.

Lamont Roach Jr | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Roach earned draws in those previous two fights in part because he started slower. Against Cruz and Davis, Lamont Jr. was the bigger man and able to impose himself later in the fights. Many commentators think he lost both of those fights.

The Fighting Pride of DC Will Return

Born in Washington and raised in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Roach learned to box at the NoXcuse Boxing Club in Capitol Heights. His father, Lamont Roach Sr., remains his trainer and promoter.

For Roach and his supporters across Washington and Prince George's County, the result was disappointing. His response to it was not.

"Zepeda was well prepared," Roach Jr. said in the ring following the fight, "No excuses, I take my hat off to his team; he was just one step ahead of me."