At the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York, Jose Zepeda defended his WBC Silver super lightweight title, blowing away Josue Vargas inside a round in the main event. It was a hostile build up to the fight, with blows exchanged at the weigh in, but Vargas proved no match for California’s Jose Zepeda come fight night. Zepeda was making the second defence of the belt that he won in an all-time classic against Ivan Baranchyk in 2020.
🚨@ChonZepeda played spoiler here in NYC 🚨
What a way to climb back up into the Junior Welterweight ranks.@boostmobile | #ZepedaVargas pic.twitter.com/sMdZkUxHIF
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 31, 2021
A massive overhand right early on did the damage here against Vargas, and it was a shot that the Puerto Rican just didn’t have the time to recover from. He bravely beat the count, but was in all sorts of trouble, and Zepeda cornered his opponent and unloaded to force the referee into ending the contest.
The victor wasted little time in calling out undisputed champion Josh Taylor. “It would be a good fight, and I’m ready for that (Taylor)” said Zepeda post fight.
“I’m 32 and in my prime. I want the WBC title. I want all the belts. I’m ready for it, and I showed that”.
There was an upset in the chief support, as Carlos Caraballo lost his unbeaten record with a ten round points loss at the hands of Jonas Sultan at bantamweight. It was a close contest, reflected in the Filipino taking the win by three scores of 94-93 to hand Caraballo his first loss in 15 contests. Caraballo was on the floor four times during the fight, once each in the second and third rounds, although Sultan tasted the canvas himself in round three. Sultan scored further knockdowns in the sixth and ninth to seal the win.
At super bantamweight, Carlos Jackson got the better of Jonathan Guzman over eight via split decision, while at lightweight, Mathew Gonzalez and Dakota Linger fought to a six round majority draw.
✨TUCKER SHINES BEFORE EARLY ENDING🤔
Super lightweight prospect Jahi Tucker entertained his New York fans although the referee appeared to halt his fight with Jorge Sosa a little prematurely💁
📺1am Sky Sports Main Event & Arena | @trboxing*
*⏰Clocks go back tonight⏰ pic.twitter.com/dxf8h4bUtG
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) October 31, 2021
A pair of welterweight contests saw Jahi Tucker stop Jorge Rodrigo Sosa in two, and Pablo Valdez took a majority decision over six against Alejandro Martinez. At super lightweight, Kasir Goldston picked up a four round decision win over Marc Misiura, and at super featherweight, Raymond Cuadrado did the same against Michael Land.
