On Saturday night at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, undefeated 135-pound contender William Zepeda was impressive when he stopped Maxi Hughes by TKO as Hughes retired in the corner after the fourth round.
Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) threw 408 punches in only four rounds of work; he just overwhelmed Hughes in the fourth round.
In that round, Zepeda threw 116 punches and landed 58 times. Forty-five of those punches were power shots.
Overall, Zepeda landed 161 punches.
Photo: Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda
According to the 27-year-old Zepeda, this is just a typical night for him.
“This was another day in the office,” said William Zepeda. “Thirty different camps and thirty different wins, and all I can do is thank my team. Early on, I knew I had him; the strategy was to work the body and finish at the top. It is not confidence that I feel, but the weight of responsibility to keep giving this level of performances.”
Zepada is ranked number one by the WBC and WBA at 135 pounds, which means he’s in line to face WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and WBC 135-pound champion Shakur Stevenson, and Zepeda says he is ready for both of them.
“The rivals who are at my doorstep are much stronger and have a lot more experience, and we must continue to work,” he said. “I will be the next champion from Mexico! I am ready for Shakur, Gervonta – whoever is ready to face me. I want to be a world champion.”
Zepeda can compete with Davis and Stevenson, and based on his fighting style, win or lose, Zepeda will be fun to watch!
Schoefield wins again
In the co-main event, undefeated Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) successfully defended his WBA International Lightweight Title against Las Vegas’ Esteuri “El Puma” Suero (13-2, 10 KOs). Scheduled for 10 rounds, “Kid Austin” suffered an accidental headbutt in the first round. The match featured a slew of non-sportsmanlike antics from Suero including holding, two low blows, and picking up Schofield twice in the fourth round. The referee stopped the fight at 2:07 of the fifth round, disqualifying Suero and awarding the victory to Floyd Schofield.
Representing Kansas City, Eric Priest (13-0, 8 KOs) went the distance against Jose “Matador” Sanchez (21-5-1, 12 KOs) of Reynosa, Mexico, in a 10-round middleweight fight. Priest was aggressive throughout the fight, with the judges awarding him the unanimous decision victory with scores of 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90.
Also on the DAZN Broadcast, Las Vegas’ Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth (13-1, 10 KOs) participated in an eight-round heavyweight fight against Seattle, Washington’s Marquice Weston (15-3-1, 8 KOs). The fight only made it to 1:33 of the second round, with Kalkreuth utilizing the left hook to send Weston to the mat.
Opening fight night and the DAZN broadcast with a spectacular professional debut, 17-time national amateur champion and former Team USA member Joel Iriarte (1-0, 1 KO) of Bakersfield, California, dazzled the crowd with a second-round TKO of Bryan Carguacundo (3-6-2) of Ecuador. The bout was scheduled for four rounds of welterweight action.
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