The WBC ordered its lightweight champion Thursday to defend his newly won crown against Jadier Herrera, its interim champion. A purse bid has been scheduled for October 20 in case both sides fail to reach an agreement before then.

Zepeda, from San Mateo, Atenco, Mexico, is coming off arguably the best win of his career. The Ring’s No. 3-ranked lightweight outworked and unanimously outpointed Lamont Roach to win the then-vacant WBC title August 1 at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Herrera, a 24-year-old southpaw from Camaguey, Cuba, won the WBC’s interim title by stopping Ricardo Nunez in the eighth round January 10 at Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.

Herrera (18-0, 16 KOs) was initially hoping to fight Zepeda (34-1, 27 KOs) for the full title. However, once the sanctioning body ordered Zepeda to face Roach, it stated that the winner had to face Herrera next.

The 30-year-old Zepeda, a relentless southpaw, was hoping to land bigger fights. He mentioned the likes of Abdullah Mason (21-0, 18 KOs), ranked No. 2 by The Ring at 135 pounds, as a possible opponent.

Mason successfully defended his WBO title by dropping and stopping Albert Bell in the 12th round on July 4 at Wolstein Center in Mason’s hometown of Cleveland.

Zepeda also said that he wanted a rematch with Shakur Stevenson, who defeated Zepeda by unanimous decision in July 2025 in their fight for Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York.

Stevenson’s reign came to an end roughly six months later.

Stevenson, a slick southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, captured his fourth divisional title when he outpointed Teofimo Lopez on January 31 to win The Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The WBC stripped Stevenson (25-0, 11 KOs) of its lightweight title because he refused to pay a six-figure sanctioning fee for the WBC allowing him to fight for The Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles.