William Zepeda vs Mercito Gesta reportedly targeted for September 9th

While the future of the lightweight titles remains unclear, ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez reports that contenders William Zepeda and Mercito Gesta will square off on September 9th. No broadcast details have been revealed, but presumably it’ll land on DAZN.

The narrative through line here is JoJo Diaz. Zepeda (28-0, 24 KO), who looked mighty shaky in his previous win over Rene Alvarado, nearly swept the former Olympian in his most impressive performance to date. Longtime fringe contender Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KO), for his part, narrowly outworked Diaz to a split decision win in March.

This promises to be an action fight while it lasts, at least, though hopefully not a main event. This would have been more appealing immediately after the Alvarado fight, when Zepeda’s ability to deal with gritty veterans was still an open question. As is, it keeps Zepeda busy while Devin Haney figures things out; Zepeda is no. 1 with the WBA, so he’s hypothetically in line to fight Gervonta Davis if Haney moves up.