The scores were slightly wider this time, but the second bout between William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer was nearly as competitive as their first fight – and it was compelling for wholly different reasons.

With a majority decision, Zepeda won this rematch and the opportunities that will open up as a result. Farmer once again won respect, though that will take him only so far.

Last November, the two lightweights met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the WBC’s interim belt on the line. It seemed a fight designed for Zepeda to win. He was considered the top contender at 135lbs, on the verge of challenging the titleholders in his weight class. He had plowed through most of his opponents on the way to that point.

Farmer, meanwhile, was a former titleholder at 130lbs, was coming off a loss to lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla and was considered by many to be a good test – but not good enough to beat Zepeda.

Farmer proved better than expected. And that led to questions about whether Zepeda wasn’t as good as he had seemed.

Zepeda had won the narrowest of split decisions in November, up by a sole point on two scorecards, down by a point on a third. Farmer withstood Zepeda’s volume and power, and he caught – and hurt – Zepeda with excellent counterpunching. Farmer dropped Zepeda in the fourth round, raising the question of what would happen if Zepeda shared the ring with the best at 135, especially Shakur Stevenson, Gervonta Davis and Keyshawn Davis.

And so it was important for Zepeda to erase those question marks and replace them with exclamation points. That seemed highly probable during the early rounds of this rematch on Saturday at The Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico.

Zepeda, a 28-year-old performing in front of his home country, came out with his characteristic suffocating aggression and volume, seeking to break Farmer down with a lot of pressure and a lot of punches. Farmer boxed capably, aiming first and foremost to make Zepeda miss, but also looking to make Zepeda pay. Both men wisely began investing in body punches as well.

Zepeda tried to start each round in the center of the ring, or beyond, closing the distance from the outset. Farmer sought to use Zepeda’s strategy against him. He would land as Zepeda moved forward, disrupting his rhythm even if it didn’t quite fend him off. Farmer couldn’t throw every moment of the round, though, and Zepeda capitalized on those other moments by letting his hands go. Farmer was able to avoid many of those shots, but not all. 

And when Farmer tripped over an advertisement on the ring apron in Round 2, Zepeda capitalized with a barrage of body shots mixed in with blows to the head, all of which had Farmer reeling with less than 40 seconds left in the second round. Farmer attempted to hold, yet Zepeda continued the onslaught.

Farmer made it out of the round, but as he returned to his corner he shook his left glove. DAZN’s ringside reporter, Claudia Trejos, would soon report that Farmer had injured his arm and his hand.

There were 10 rounds left. If Farmer was to make it through them, he would have to fight through that injury – and fight through everything Zepeda was doing, a considerable challenge for a healthy boxer, never mind one who wasn’t.

Farmer wasn’t healthy, but he was up for the challenge. He had to make it through some difficult stretches, though.

Through two rounds, CompuBox’s unofficial count had Zepeda landing 56 of 187 while Farmer was just 18 of 102. Farmer wasn’t going to be able to match Zepeda on volume, but he still laced in a good counter left hand at one moment in the third, and a solid right uppercut at another point.

Zepeda kept to the same strategy in the fourth round of overwhelming his now-compromised foe. He didn’t want to give Farmer the room to breathe or the time to rest. He remained dedicated to attacking Farmer’s core, hoping to take away Farmer’s movement and sap the steam on Farmer’s shots. Farmer wasn’t done yet. After landing a right hand below the belt, he further capitalized with an eye-catching combination that included a left uppercut. The two men exchanged punches before the bell.

Again, Farmer shook out his left arm in the corner. He remained standing for much of the break, taking a seat briefly before the fifth round began.

Farmer scored with a three-punch combination in Round 5 and let loose with another extended flurry. Yet Zepeda had him reeling with 30 seconds remaining in the round. The referee was looking on closely. It wasn’t over: Farmer summoned an impressive left uppercut in the final moments of the fifth. Zepeda took it fine.

Farmer made a pivotal adjustment in the sixth. He did more sticking and moving, throwing two or three here, then bounding away. He brought blood from Zepeda’s nose. The round raised a few questions, namely: Had Zepeda taken the round off? Had Farmer found something that worked? Was it a mix of both?

We found out in the seventh round. Farmer continued to succeed. He had cut down Zepeda’s volume. Fewer punches coming at Farmer meant dodging those shots was a more manageable task. Zepeda did come on stronger with about 40 seconds remaining in the round.

By the ninth, though, Zepeda was cutting off the ring better again. Perhaps Farmer’s adrenaline was draining, the resistance diminishing. Once again, Farmer issued a reminder, landing a good left hand. Once again, Zepeda took it and kept coming.

The action paused in the 10th round and again in the 11th for loose tape on Farmer’s wrist. Round 11 was a tale of two halves, the first 90 seconds or so belonging to Zepeda, who wouldn’t let Farmer hold on. The latter minute and a half featured Farmer scoring in combinations, moving and then doing it again.

As the 12th round began, it was impressive that the fight – and specifically Farmer – had made it to this point. Farmer wasn’t here for a moral victory, though. Whether Farmer thought he was behind or ahead on the scorecards, he recognized the importance of finishing strong. 

The two fought at close quarters, and Farmer had Zepeda more visibly hurt than had been the case in the preceding 11 rounds. About a minute into the 12th, Farmer threw a left hand and Zepeda’s gloves touched the canvas. The referee ruled it a slip, and the broadcast replay justified that call, as Farmer appeared to have pulled Zepeda down rather than put him there with a scoring blow. Nevertheless, Farmer soon scored with a big left hand that shook Zepeda. Farmer followed up, and then Zepeda recovered and retaliated. 

The bell rang. The fight went to the scorecards. One judge scored the bout even, 114-114. He was overruled by the two judges who saw the action mostly for Zepeda, 116-112 and 115-113.

“I knew he was difficult the first time,” Zepeda said afterward through a translator. “He was even more difficult this time.”

Farmer – who declined to answer a question about his injury – expressed respect for Zepeda but was upset at the outcome, and at the sport of boxing in general.

“I can’t get decisions,” he said. “I don’t have a big promoter, so what the hell am I to do? So at this point, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t keep going to camp and doing all this shit and then not getting the decision and getting robbed. I’m not going to lie: The last fight was closer than this fight.”

And there’s the rub. Farmer, now 33-8-1 (8 KOs), has shown in his past two outings that he can still compete at a high level. But that won’t get him in any better position than being the B-side to another prospect or contender or, if he’s fortunate, landing a title shot.

“Could” being the operative term. Not for Zepeda. “Will” is the word. Zepeda, now 33-0 (27 KOs), retained his interim WBC belt and the shot that will bestow him at Stevenson, the sanctioning body’s full titleholder.

Zepeda had already been named Stevenson’s mandatory contender even before the first fight with Farmer. Zepeda declined that fight back then because his wife was due to give birth.

Zepeda got the win he needed in Saturday’s rematch, but it is fair to have doubts about how he will fare against Stevenson, who is considered more talented than Farmer.

Nevertheless, it is most likely that they will approach the Stevenson fight the same way that Zepeda approaches his foes: by moving forward relentlessly and seeing what comes of it.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.