By: Sean Crose
The vacant WBC junior welterweight belt was on the road Saturday in Carson, California as former world titlist Regis Prograis took on Jose Zepeda in a scheduled 12 rounder. The predominant occasion of a pay per view Fite card, Prograis-Zepeda had been extensively seen beforehand as a pairing of two extraordinarily proficient and hungry fighters, one which was very prone to produce fireworks.
The first two rounds had been shut. In reality, they gave the impression to be extra of a chess match than the anticipated contest between two males who might prove the lights. Zepeda landed laborious within the first. Prograis landed laborious within the second. By the third spherical, nonetheless, Prograis began to land, and land nicely on his man. What’s extra, Prograis’ awkward, aggressive type gave the impression to be beginning to repay for the Houston primarily based fighter.
The fourth by way of the sixth rounds had been just about a Prograis showcase. Not solely did he land, he landed laborious. He reduce Zepeda. He snapped Zepeda’s head again when he landed. He didn’t even appear to thoughts when Zepeda’s jabs landed clear. As the bout reached its midpoint, Zepeda seemed as if he could have simply been making an attempt to outlive.
As the struggle made its means in direction of the later rounds it turned the anatomy of a beatdown. Zepeda gave the impression to be hypnotized Prograis’ odd, crablike type. The man merely couldn’t make something occur outdoors of touchdown together with his jab. And Prograis didn’t thoughts getting hit with the jab. When he landed on Zepeda, Zepeda’s head jerked again. He was, merely put, outclassing his man.
In the tenth spherical, nonetheless, Zepeda really got here alive. He rocked Prograis with a left. He wasn’t in a position to capitalize on his second an excessive amount of, however Zepeda continued to struggle gamely and nicely all through the spherical. Indeed, he could have received that chapter. Perhaps Prograis realized this, for within the tenth he rocked Zepeda laborious. He then went in for the kill. Sending Zepeda to the ropes, Progrias proceeded to beat his opponent practically mindless till the referee stopped the struggle and Zepeda crumbled onto the mat.
“I want to congratulate Jose Zepeda,” Prograis mentioned after the bout. “This dude is tough, tough, tough.” Prograis then added that it had been one of many hardest fights he had ever engaged in. “I felt like, just take him to the deep waters and drown him,” mentioned Prograis.
