William Zepeda (28-0, 24 KOs) is well on his way to becoming an unstoppable force in the lightweight division. Zepeda made a resounding statement with an incredible second round victory over Jaime Arboleda (19-3, 14 KOs). Zepeda kept going straight to the body and sent Arboleda, the resilient Panamanian from the city of Curundu, to the mat three times until the referee stopped the match at 2:16 in the second round. After Zepeda’s fight on the undercard of Davis-Garcia was delayed by one week, it’s clear “El Camaron” Zepeda was glad to be showcasing his power and skill in the main event slot that was originally reserved for Eimantas Stanionis, WBA “regular” welterweight titlist, and mandatory challenger Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Zepeda Shines in Main Event Victory Against Arboleda
Arboleda was moving up from junior lightweight and beginning a respectable winstreak of three fights ever since being stopped in the 11th round by Chris Colbert in a WBA interim junior lightweight title bout in December 2020. Nonetheless, Zepeda took advantage of the main event spotlight in his impressive showing against the 28 year-old Panamanian fighter.
The first round came and went with both fighters feeling the other out, with Zepeda making Arboleda backpedal throughout. Once the second round started however, Zepeda, the 26 year-old southpaw ripped into Arboleda with body shot after body shot.
“El Camaron” Zepeda was landing head shots as well, but the relentless body attacks were too much for “Jaimito” Arboleda to handle. In the second round, Zepeda earned the first knockdown with a brutal left to the body, which sent Arboleda to one knee barely one minute into the round.
Half a minute later, Zepeda landed a combination with another body shot to top it off, sending Arboleda back down to one knee. Arboleda rose at the eight count but it was clear by this point that the Panamanian fighter would not be in it for the long haul.
Zepeda Claims Victory With Brutal Body Punches
Once Arboleda was up for the second time, Zepeda walked right up to him and began a powerful combination of punches to the body that had Arboleda reeling back, but it was yet another left hook to the body that dropped the Panamanian fighter flat on his back. Arboleda tried to muster his strength and get back up, but the referee, Ruben Perez, counted him out at 2 minutes and 16 seconds.
“We noticed in the first round my opponent was lowering his hands and going to the body was affecting him and that’s why we were able to jump on him,” Zepeda said in a post-fight interview.
Zepeda’s trainer Jay “Panda” Najar said he was not surprised that “El Camaron” cut through Jaime Arboleda so quickly.
“When you train up at 10,000 feet above sea level he can be a machine. He can fight going forward, he can go backwards, he can fight mid-distance and he’s always going to be a great show. Win, lose or draw he’s going to give a great show just because of his discipline,” Najar said, “Discipline is the key to all his victories. He’s a very disciplined fighter and all the aspects of that.”
“It’s a loaded division. We know that,” said Zepeda, who was coming off a one-sided unanimous decision over contender and former junior lightweight titlist Joseph Diaz Jr. in October. “We want to fight for a title. It doesn’t matter who it is. I am ready to fight anyone at 135.”
Where Zepeda goes next is up in the air but he’s made it clear that he wants a major fight.
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