By Ian S Palmer
Southpaw Josse Zepeda of Long Beach, California is back in action this Saturday, March 25th when he takes on Neeraj Goyat of India. The 10-round junior welterweight bout takes place in Mexico and can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Zepeda last fought in November when he was stopped in the 11th round by Regis Prograis in a shot at the vacant WBC Junior Welterweight Title. Goyat’s last fight took place in July when he stopped Channarong Injampa in the second round.
Zepeda is a 33-year-old veteran southpaw and owns a mark of 35-3 with 27 Ko’s. He originally won the vacant Silver Jr. Welterweight Crown in October, 2020 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 by 10-round unanimous decision without much problem seven months later and stopped Josue Vargas five months after that. 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 Carlos Ramirez in February, 2019 in another world title opportunity with his third defeat coming to Prograis in his last outing. Zepeda stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 70.5 -inch reach and has boxed 168 rounds since making his pro debut on Christmas Day, 2009. He possesses better-than-average power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 67.5 percent and is definitely a fan-friendly fighter.
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.
Goyat is 31 years old and virtually unknown anywhere else other than his homeland of India. He makes the ring walk with a mark of 17-3-2 with 7 Ko’s and has boxed 119 rounds since making his pro debut in 2012. Before that, he enjoyed a pretty good amateur career as he fought at the 2016 Olympic qualifiers, won a bronze medal at the 2008 Youth Commonwealth Games and fought at the 2011 World Military Games. He also excelled in several national tournaments in his homeland.
Since turning pro, Goyat was the WBC Asian Welterweight title holder as he was the WBC Asian Champion from 2015 to 2017. He stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall with an unlisted reach so gives up just a half-inch in height to Zepeda. As far as power is concerned, Goyat has a current knockout ratio of just 31.8 per cent. His only recognizable opponent so far has been former WBA Featherweight Champion Can Xu of China, who Goyat beat early in their careers by four-round split decision.
Goyat’s defeats came at the hands of Gou Wen Dong in his pro debut, Chatri Charoensin and Sergio Daniel Moreno Martinez, all by decisions. His draws were against Phum Kunmat and Xian Qian We over four and six rounds respectively. In fact, Goyat was winless in his first four pro outings with two losses and two draws and just eight of his 22 opponents have had winning records. He’s won eight fights in a row though with five of them coming by stoppage.
Prediction…
Goyat is apparently quite well known in India as he also dabbles in acting over there. He’s definitely taking a step up in class this weekend against Zepeda and he’s going to need a good chin to emerge with a victory. Goyat possesses some skills but I don’t think he’s anywhere near the same level as Zepeda and that will likely show this Saturday as Zepeda bounces back with a win.
