No one knows how William Zepeda could go up against the likes of Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko, all gifted, reaching 135 pounds.
However, one thing seems certain: Zepeda will make any opponent earn whatever they get their hands on.
The punching machine from Mexico proved it again against Jaime Arboleda on Saturday at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, knocking out his opponent three times with body blows and stopping him in the second round.
WHAT IS A FIGHT AND ROUND.@williamzepeda2 with 3 kills in a round. #ZepedaArboleda | DIRECT @DAZNBOXING pic.twitter.com/3rTmj5BfsG
– Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) April 30, 2023
And Arboleda is not an easy person. The Panamanian tennis player was a 130-pound championship contender with respectable punching ability and power. However, he was overwhelmed.
“After the first round, we noticed that my opponent was lowering his arm,” said Zepeda, referring to the strategy of protecting the stomach. “The body throw affected him. That’s why we can jump into it.
Zepeda (28-0, 24 KOs) is on the verge of a breakout win over Joseph Diaz Jr., in which he set a record 135 pounds for punches thrown, a staggering 1,536, according to CompuBox.
The Mexico City native needed just 119 to get work done on Saturday in suburban Dallas.
He pressured Arboleda (19-3, 14 KOs) from the start, which is common for a volume puncher, but the early part of the match came in the middle of the second half. That was when Arboleda was grimacing on one knee after receiving a dangerous left kick from his southern opponent.
The Panamanian was able to get up and continue to fight but was still clearly in pain, and quickly fell to his knees when another shot hit him.
Again Arboleda got up and tried to fight through the pain but the final body blow he received sent him face down into the canvas, where he writhed in pain and could not. beat count.
The official stoppage time is 2:16 of the 2nd half.
As a result, Zepeda has further enhanced her certification as a legitimate contender in the top light heavyweight category.
However, it’s unclear when he might be able to shoot at one of his more famous opponents. Haney defends her undisputed title against Lomachenko on May 20. Meanwhile, Davis and Stevenson are on recent knockout wins and are just beginning to chart their immediate future.
Zepeda was asked who he wanted to fight. He replied in Spanish before saying in English at the end, “I’m ready.”
“It’s a fully loaded division,” he said through a translator. “We knew we wanted to fight for a title. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
Zepeda’s coach, Jay Najar, feels the same way.
“That’s why we got into boxing, to fight,” he said. “Otherwise, we would have gone into hockey or ballet. … We are ready to fight. We are ready to fight anyone.”
We’ll see if the top dogs are ready to fight him.
