By Ian S Palmer
Jose Zepeda of Long Beach, California and Ivan Baranchyk of Belarus will battle it out in a 10-round bout for the vacant WBC Silver Jr. Welterweight Title in Las Vegas this Saturday, Oct. 3rd. The bout can be seen live in America on ESPN+. Zepeda last fought in July when he beat Kendo Castaneda by a 10-round unanimous decision. Baranchyk last saw action in October, 2019 when he stopped Gabriel Bracero in the fourth round for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Title.
Zepeda is a 31-year-old veteran southpaw with a fine mark of 32-2 with 25 Kos. His first loss came to Terry Flanagan when he was stopped in the second round in a shot at the WBO Lightweight Title in July of 2015. Zepeda suffered a dislocated left shoulder and remained on his stool when the bell rang to start the third round. He then dropped a majority decision to WBC Super Lightweight Champion Jose Ramirez in February, 2019 in another world title opportunity.
Zepeda’s 5-feet-8-inches tall with a reach of 70.5 inches and has boxed 141 rounds since turning pro on Christmas Day of 2009. Zepeda’s got good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 69.4 percent. He’s been on the deck before but still owns a pretty solid chin. He won the vacant WBO International Super Lightweight Crown in June of 2017 when he stopped Miguel Zamudio in the sixth round.
He then won the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Lightweight Championship by stopping Carlos Diaz Ramirez in the fifth round a year later. Zepeda has also beaten the likes of Jose Pedraza, Luis Arceo, Emanuel Lopez, Robert Frankel, Victor Manuel Cayo, Armando Robles and Abner Lopez. He’s got plenty of experience and power and was one of Ramirez’s stiffest pro test up to now.
The 27-year-old Baranchyk, who was born in Russia, now fights out of Oklahoma and enters the contest with a mark of 20-1 with 13 Kos. He made a name for himself in the World Boxing Super Series in May, 2019 when he put his IBF Jr. Welterweight Title on the line in Scotland against hometown hero Josh Taylor. He was dropped twice in the sixth round and lost a unanimous decision with two of the judges giving it to Taylor just 115-111 despite the two knockdowns.
Baranchyk had won the vacant IBF Title earlier in the tournament when he stopped Anthony Yigit after seven rounds. He’s also 5-feet-8-inches tall but his 67-inch reach means he gives up 3.5-inches in that department to Zepeda. Baranchyk has good power as well with a current knockout ratio of 61.2 per cent but isn’t known as a one-punch KO artist. He’s one of those guys who simply wears his opponents down all night long by digging hard shots to the head and body.
Baranchyk enjoyed a fine amateur career and won a gold medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships. He’s boxed 99 rounds since turning pro in 2014 and has also won the USBA Super Lightweight Title and the WBC USNBC Super Lightweight Belt. Baranchyk has fought numerous times in the USA, but most of his other opponents are unrecognizable to the average fans such as Nicholas Givan, Eliseo Sesma, Zhimin Wang, Wilberth Lopez, Abel Ramos, Petr Petrov and Keenan Smith.
Prediction…
Baranchyk fought well against Taylor in the World Boxing Super Series and has a punishing style when he’s at his best. He can be relentless at times and will need to be if he hopes to beat a seasoned veteran like Zepeda. On the other hand, Zepeda brings a lot to the ring such as experience and power and surprised a lot of fans by bouncing back from his loss to Ramirez with a win over Jose Pedraza. I think Baranchyk’s underrated though and believe he has the style to beat Zepeda by pressuring him constantly. He needs to win this fight to be considered a legitimate title challenger once again and i have a feeling he’ll pull it off.
