Jose Zepeda immediately dismantled the last lefty he was fighting. Zepeda, also a left-handed boxer, used his short, devastating left hand to defeat the previously undefeated Josue Vargas in a 10-round main event at Madison Square Garden nearly 13 months ago in just 1: After 10 Hulu Theater slapped Vargas in the face in New York. Vargas rose to his feet, but Zepeda pounced on his vulnerable opponent, delivering a barrage of powerful punches that knocked Vargas into the corner and won by technical knockout in the first round.
Regis Prograis, a strong southpaw in his own right, barely noticed Zepeda’s impressive win over Vargas as he prepared for Saturday night’s 140-pound 12-round title bout in Carson, Calif.
“I’m not Josue Vargas, far from it,” Prograis told BoxingScene.com. “It’s really not something to watch. He stopped him. He stopped him quickly, that’s all. They had a really good plan and he went out and stopped it very quickly. But Josue Vargas isn’t me ,far away from me.”
Most handicappers thought Prograis was the favorite to beat Zepeda 4-1 in the fight for the unclaimed WBC super featherweight title. Scotland’s Josh Taylor (19-0, 13 knockouts) retired earlier this year. The fight between No. 1 Zepeda (36-2, 28 KOs, 2 NC) of La Puente, Calif., and No. 2 Prograis of Katy, Texas (27-1, 23 KOs) will is a paid main event – four games each at Dignity Health Sports Park (9:00pm ET; 6:00pm PT; $59.99).
Zepeda, 33, lost a 12-round majority to then-undefeated WBC 140-pound champion Jose Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs) as he was defeated by technical knockout in the second round with a severed shoulder. Terry Flanagan of the England team was also unbeaten at the time. However, Prograis believed he would be the first warrior to defeat Zepeda convincingly.
“I just feel superior to him on every level,” Prograis said. “I wasn’t too worried about what he brought. The sparring went really well. I’ve had fights with bigger guys and faster little guys and stronger guys. It’s all been going well for me. I’m in the Well done on the sparring side. No matter what he brings to the table, I’ll have the answers anyway. So I don’t really expect anything from him.”
