Not so long ago, when Mexico’s William Zepeda was the consensus No. 1 lightweight contender among all four sanctioning bodies, few wanted anything to do with the power-hitting volume puncher.

Now that he’s gone through hell twice with Tevin Farmer, there’s a theory that it may be best for Zepeda’s handlers to “cash him out” in a bout that looks impossible to win against WBC lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson.

On Monday’s episode of ProBox TV’s “BoxingScene Today,” analysts and former world titleholders Paulie Malignaggi and Chris Algieri raised the point that Zepeda, 33-0 (27 KOs), might find it wisest to take the bout against three-division titleholder Stevenson, 23-0 (11 KOs), now before the interest from Saudi Arabia in bankrolling the bout wanes.

“Cash him out,” Algieri said. “Riyadh will pay for it. It’s not a blockbuster, but a respectable loss and [Zepeda] doesn’t get hurt.”

While Zepeda, 28, maintained his reputation as a relentless fighter in Saturday’s rematch against former junior lightweight titleholder Farmer in Cancun, Mexico, he was getting beaten in the second half of the bout by the more sophisticated boxer and nearly was knocked down in the 12th round before barely emerging for a second consecutive time with a narrow victory by majority decision, 116-112, 115-113, 114-114.

“Zepeda probably loses every second of every single round against Shakur Stevenson,” Malignaggi said of Zepeda.

With Zepeda wearing the WBC interim lightweight belt, the timing for Stevenson-Zepeda is sublime given their previous interest in a bout.

Stevenson returned to the ring February 22 and schooled replacement opponent Josh Padley by ninth-round TKO despite experiencing hand pain from a landed punch during the bout.

A member of Stevenson’s management team told BoxingScene Monday, “We have agreed to fight [Zepeda] next.”

The difficulty that Farmer, 34, has posed makes the matchup favorable for Stevenson, the faster, more skilled U.S. Olympian.

“Farmer started pulling out rounds and had the near knockdown in the 12th. […] We saw some of the glaring flaws that Zepeda has, and Tevin Farmer’s still got it,” Algieri said.

“You’re back in Cancun, and [Zepeda’s] pressure of the early rounds carried him through. Zepeda doesn’t go away,” Malignaggi said.

The analysts speculated that Zepeda versus WBA lightweight titleholder Gervonta “Tank” Davis would be a better fight because of Zepeda’s ability to throw heavy punches early, while Davis is a notorious slow starter.

But Davis is likely first moving to a June 21 rematch in Las Vegas against WBA junior lightweight titleholder Lamont Roach Jnr following their March 1 draw in Brooklyn.

In other action this past Saturday, WBO welterweight titleholder Brian Norman Jnr made his first successful defense of his belt by routing Derrieck Cuevas by third-round TKO.

Boxing’s youngest male champion, the 24-year-old Norman, 27-0 (21 KOs), displayed impeccable timing by winning convincingly two weeks before fellow welterweight titleholders Jaron “Boots” Ennis (IBF) and Eimantas Stanionis (WBA) square off April 12 in Atlantic City to become a unified titleholder.

“Norman did what he had to do against a guy like Cuevas, and [doing it] a couple weeks before the unification [puts] his name in the conversation with Stanionis and Ennis,” Malignaggi said.

Malignaggi questioned Cuevas’ effort – “You box your whole life for a shot like that and you fight like that? Go work at UPS,” he said. 

But Algieri said Norman’s promise is encouraging and could regenerate talks for a fight with Ennis should the Philadelphia fighter, who says he’s pursuing an undisputed claim, win in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on DAZN.

The pair were in talks previously – “It wasn’t crazy money,” Algieri said – but Norman withdrew and moved toward a lesser-touch title defense.