By Ian S Palmer
Jose Zepeda of Long Beach, California will be putting his WBC Silver Jr. Welterweight Title on the line in New York City this Saturday, October 30th against Josue Vargas of Puerto Rico. The 10-rounder can be seen live in America on ESPN+ while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Arena. Zepeda last fought in May when he retained his title with a 10-round unanimous decision against Hank Lundy. Vargas last saw action in April when he beat Willie Shaw by 10-round unanimous decision.
Zepeda is a 32-year-old veteran southpaw with a fine mark of 34-2 with 26 Kos. He originally won the vacant Silver Jr. Welterweight Crown last October in a classic slugfest against Ivan Baranchyk. Zepeda was down twice in round one and once in rounds two and five while Baranchyk was down once in rounds two, three, four and five before he finally couldn’t get back up. It was thought Zepeda may have suffered a lot of damage from the fight but he then beat Hank Lundy without much problem seven months later.
Zepeda’s first pro loss came to Terry Flanagan when he was stopped in the second round in a shot at the WBO Lightweight Title in July, 2015. He 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 stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a reach of 70.5 inches and has boxed 156 rounds since turning pro on Christmas Day, 2009. He’s got better-than-average power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 68.4 percent. He’s obviously been on the deck before but still owns a pretty solid chin and remarkably quick recovery powers as we saw in his tilt with Baranchyk.
Zepeda also won the vacant WBO International Super Lightweight Crown in June, 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 Jose Ramirez’s stiffest pro tests up to now.
Vargas is a 23 year old with a fine record of 19-1 with 9 Kos. He’s boxed 113 rounds since making his pro debut back in 2015 and the southpaw now fights out of the Bronx, New York. He enjoyed a brief amateur career and was beaten by Jaron Ennis before turning pro. His lone defeat came back in 2016 when he was disqualified against Samuel Santana in the third round of their four-round tilt.
Vargas stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and possesses a 69.5-inch reach. He’s an inch taller than Zepeda but gives up an inch in reach. Vargas isn’t really known as a power puncher as his current knockout ration stands at 45 per cent. He’s stepping up in class this weekend as his biggest wins so far have been against Kendo Castaneda and Victor Vazquez. He also beat Noel Murphy by 10-round unanimous decision in 2019 for the vacant IBF North American Jr. Welterweight Title.
Prediction…
Zepeda displayed tons of heart and courage in his war with Baranchyk last year in one of the most exciting and knockdown-brawls in boxing history and be followed it up well with his performance against Hank Lundy. He has more experience and power than Vargas but arguably the same can’t be said for his pure boxing skills. I can see Vargas outboxing Zepeda but I’ll give the veteran the benefit of the doubt due to his experience and go with a Zepeda victory in a close contest.
