Following a rather brutal knockout loss to Regis Prograis, the American-born Jose Zepeda returned to the ring on March 25th at the Domo Alcalde in Guadeljara of Mexico in a non-title bout at Super Lightweight, scheduled for ten rounds. Zepeda presided over a unanimous decision victory over Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat who had spent nearly as much time showboating during the fight, as he actually fought. The judges scored the fight widely in favor of Zepeda with all three scoring it 100-90.
Coming forward immediately, the course of the first round of the Super Lightweight match saw Jose Zepeda (36-3, 27 KO’s) endlessly pressure Neeraj Goyat (17-4, 7 KO’s) and continued on in the same vein until the last bell of the tenth round. Headlining in his heritage country of Mexico, Zepeda didn’t fully step on the gas to finish Neeraj as he focused on a gameplan centered mostly on hurting the Indian fighter – whether at range or on the inside.
The former two-time world title challenger was barely tested by Goyat who regularly held up his hands in a showboating manner to draw the crowds. Zepeda was none too bothered by his opponent’s antics as he continued to show some of his old form with his punch variety, excellent set-up jabs and overall pace that he maintained throughout the match.
Though Goyat offered little in the way of offense, he did prove to be hard to break through by Zepeda who seemed not fully committed to hit on the gas pedal and finish Goyat. Goyat did test Zepeda’s own defenses and reflexes with his counterpunches, but didn’t offer enough of a challenge to be a genuine threat to the American fighter.
After ten rounds, it was Jose Zepeda who netted home an easy unanimous decision victory with all three judges’ scorecards of 100-90 indicating that he had won every single round. Though not an overwhelmingly impressive performance, Zepeda dominated easily and got the necessary rounds in to prepare himself for future and tougher opponents.
Following his knockout loss to Regis Prograis (28-1, 24 KO’s) in November of 2022, Zepeda can now settle into a new rhythm that will determine whether he can challenge for a world title again, and actually win this time around.
Mexican Super Welterweight Carlos Ocampo (35-2, 23 KO’s) also made a return to the ring following a UD loss to contender American Sebastian Fundora (20-0-1, 13 KO’s) in October of 2022. Fighting an easy opponent in Mauricio Gutierrez (7-1, 5 KO’s), Ocampo made short work of the fellow Mexican to the point Gutierrez retired after the fourth round after his corner surmised he had accumulated too much damage within the four rounds. Carlos Ocampo netted his 35th win and 23rd knockout/stoppage following his victory over Gutierrez.
