By Ian S Palmer
Jose Zepeda of Long Beach, California will be putting his WBC Silver Jr. Welterweight Title on the line in Las Vegas this Saturday, May 22 against Hank Lundy of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 10-rounder can be seen live in the UK on the FITE network while those in America can catch it on on ESPN+ and ESPN while TSN 2 will be showing it in Canada. Zepeda last fought in October in a classic slugfest against Ivan Baranchyk to win the vacant Silver Title. 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. Lundy last saw action in February of last year when he beat Ezequiel Victor Fernandez by an eight-round unanimous decision.
Zepeda is a 31-year-old veteran southpaw with a fine mark of 33-2 with 26 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 146 rounds since turning pro on Christmas Day, 2009. Zepeda’s got good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 70.3 percent. He’s been on the deck before but still owns a pretty solid chin and remarkably quick recovery powers as we saw in his last 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 test up to now.
The 37-year-old Lundy holds a record of 31-8-1 with 14 Kos to his name. His biggest victories have been against world champs Richar Abril, David Diaz and DeMarcus Corley and has also beaten the likes of Olusegan Ajose, Angeloa Santana, Patrick Williams and Dannie Williams. He won the vacant WBC Continental Lightweight Championship when he stopped Carlos Velasquez in the fifth round in October, 2015.
Lundy has boxed 257 since making his pro debut in 2006 and possesses mediocre power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of just 35 per cent. He has a wingspan of 68 inches and stands 5-feet-7-inches tall which puts him at a one-inch height and 2.5-inch reach disadvantage against Zepeda. Lundy’s lone draw was a four-round draw affair Darnell Jiles Jr back in 2008 and and has lost two of his past four fights.
His losses have been to Terence Crawford, Zaur Abdullaev, Avery Sparrow, Thomas Dulorme, Mauricio Herrera, Viktor Postol, Ray Beltran and John Molina Jr. with Molina and Crawford being the only one to stop him. The bout with Crawford came in 2016 when Crawford was the WBO Super Lightweight champ and he was stopped in the fifth round.
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. It may have taken a lot out of him or it may have filled him with confidence. Lundy’s now 37 years old but when he was at his peak he could be a handful for anybody. Zepeda also brings experience and more power though and being six years younger and slightly bigger won’t hurt him either. You never know which Lundy will show up, but even the best version of him isn’t likely to be good enough on Saturday. I’m going with Zepeda.
