Notebook: Zepeda has no room for failure vs. Prograis in 3rd title shot
Conwell has big goals; Whyte meets Franklin with something to prove; Eubank-Smith set; Fuentes dies from fight injuries; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Jose Zepeda has had two opportunities to fight for a world title but lost both times, the only defeats of his career. Now he has a third title shot at hand and hopes, as the old adage goes, the third time’s the charm.
He will square off with fellow southpaw Regis Prograis for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title in the main event of a pay-per-view card being put on by Legendz Entertainment and MarvNation Promotions on Saturday (9 p.m. ET) at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The card is available via traditional linear television pay-per-view as well as streaming outlets such as FITE and PPV. com.
“This is a third time fighting for a world title for me and that’s why I keep saying this is the time for me to get my world title belt,” Zepeda said this week. “I have all the experience I need. Regis Prograis is going to be fighting the best version of Jose Zepeda. I really believe it’s now or never.”
In 2015, Zepeda traveled to Terry Flanagan’s hometown of Manchester, England to challenge him for the WBO lightweight title but lost by second-round knockout due to a dislocated left shoulder.
In February 2019, he challenged then-WBC titlist Jose Ramirez and lost a majority decision that many believed Zepeda rightfully won.
Since that defeat, Zepeda has scored three notable wins. He outpointed former two-division titleholder Jose Pedraza; knocked out former junior welterweight titlist Ivan Baranchyk in the fifth round of the wild 2020 fight of the year in which they were both knocked down four times; and went to Jose Vargas’ backyard in New York and knocked him out in the first round in his last bout 13 months ago.
Zepeda and Ramirez were ordered to meet in a rematch for the vacant belt but Ramirez opted out due to his wedding plans and Prograis got the spot in the fight with the winner owing Ramirez a mandatory fight next.
Whomever Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs), 33, was going to fight for the 140-pound belt, he didn’t really care. But the La Puente, California, resident is pleased he will be able to face Prograis in front of what figures to be a pro-Zepeda crowd.
“It’s nice to fight for the world title at home,” Zepeda said. “I’m always fighting on the road. It’s extra motivation for me to fight in my backyard. It’s going to be a great night for boxing. I’ve heard it all before that I’m not going to win certain fights but my track record speaks for itself.”
Former WBA titlist Prograis (27-1, 23 KOs), 33, of New Orleans, has won three fights in a row by knockout since losing a majority decision in a 2019 unification fight to Josh Taylor and is the clear favorite against Zepeda, who is confident in his ability.
“Prograis is going to be very surprised by my power and speed.” Zepeda said. “We’re both going to fight the way we’ve been fighting. He hits hard, I hit hard and both of us are desperate to win, which will make for a great fight. Both of us have a lot of heart and we both are looking for a real fight to settle this. I had two previous opportunities to win a world title and I truly believe this is the best version of me for this fight.”
Conwell has big plans
Junior middleweight up-and-comer Charles Conwell has big plans for his career.
Most significantly is the fight Conwell (17-0, 13 KOs), 24, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Cleveland, has in front on him. It’s a 10-round WBC semifinal title eliminator against Juan Carlos Abreu (25-6-1, 23 KOs), 35, of the Dominican Republic, on the Jose Zepeda-Regis Prograis pay-per-view card on Saturday (9 p.m. ET) in Carson, California.
The winner will be positioned closer to a shot at Jermell Charlo, the reigning undisputed champion but there are other notable fighters ahead of Conwell in the WBC rankings, including interim titlist Sebastian Fundora and two-division titlist Danny Garcia.
“Those are the types of fights I want,” Conwell said. “I want those ex-world champions, people with experience who have been there before, who've done it. And I know Danny Garcia's a great champion. He's done his thing at two different weight classes, at 140 and 147 and now he's bringing his skills up to 154.
“But I feel like it's a new time and a new era. A lot of young fighters out there are starting to pop out, around my age group. It's the right time for me to be the next superstar of the division and if Danny Garcia is the name I need on my record, then I'll go there and take that.”
A fight with Garcia is seemingly improbable however. But the fight with Abreu is reality.
“Saturday night, I'm going to leave the ring with a new record of 18-0 with 14 knockouts,” Conwell said. “Just know that I'm going to bring the action. I'm looking to finish this fight in style. No boxing, no dancing around, I'm looking to go out there and dominate every round. For however long it lasts.
“I possess the speed, the skill, the power, the slickness and everything else that I need to win and get the knockout. It's just a matter of when. I'm looking to put on the best performance of my career so far and really going out there and making a statement.”
Whyte aims for rebound
When last seen in the ring, longtime British heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte challenged world champion Tyson Fury in a long-awaited title shot before a record crowd of 94,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium on April 23.
Things could not have gone worse for Whyte, who took a one-sided sixth-round knockout loss for his second KO loss in three fights.
Now Whyte is back and face unbeaten American Jermaine Franklin in the main event of the Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET) at the OVO Arena, Wembley in London.
What the 35-year-old Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs) has left remains to seen just as it remains to be seen whether Franklin (21-0, 14 KOs), 29, of Saginaw, Michigan, is a contender or a pretender as he steps up to face by far his most significant opponent.
Whyte knows many think he is done following the knockout to Fury. He says those believers beware.
“At the moment people are thinking I’m a wounded lion,” Whyte said this week. “All of these hyenas are looking to move in and have a little nibble here and a nibble there. What they've got to remember is I’m still a predator at the end of the day, and what predators do is they kill.”
Whyte is working with trainer Buddy McGirt for the first time and said they are not at all underestimating Franklin.
“We know what’s in front of us. He’s young and he’s dangerous,” Whyte said. “Obviously, he’s undefeated and he’s full of beans as we say here in the U.K. It’s up to me to beat them out of him one by one. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Franklin at one point was viewed by many as the No. 1 American heavyweight prospect until a 2½-year layoff and shaky performances hurt his stock. The fight will be his first outside of the United States, mark a step up in competition and offer Franklin a chance for a breakout win.
“I’ve got the utmost confidence in myself and I’m ready to go to work,” said Franklin, who has been in England for the past five weeks sparring with Fury and secondary titlist Daniel Dubois. “I’ve just got the utmost confidence in myself and my abilities. You keep bringing up him being stopped in his last fight but I don’t care about that. I’ve come in here and prepared like he’s a world champion. That’s all we’re looking at. I’m just focused on this fight.”
“This is my chance to show that I can go toe-to-toe with any heavyweight in the world. I’m super motivated to be in the U.K. and win on my opponent’s home turf. I’m coming to finish him, so he better not be looking past me.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked the three notable Saturday main events: Jose Zepeda vs. Regis Prograis for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title; the Dillian Whyte-Jermaine Franklin heavyweight bout; Zack Parker vs. John Ryder for the WBO interim super middleweight title. We also took viewer questions and comments. Check out the show here:
Eubank Jr.-Liam Smith set
Middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. will fight former junior middleweight titlist and British countryman Liam Smith on Jan. 21 at AO Arena in Manchester, England, Boxxer and Wasserman Boxing announced.
“Eubank versus Smith is a fight that has been talked about for a very long time. It's an absolute banger,” said Kalle Sauerland of Wasserman Boxing, Eubank’s promoter.
The fight was in the works for the past few weeks after Eubank (32-3, 23 KOs) was in search of a notable fight following the cancellation of the showdown with Conor Benn due to Benn’s failed drug test coming to light days before the scheduled Oct. 8 bout.
Now he has one against Smith (32-3-1, 19 KOs), 34, who will move up in weight for the fight that will headline a Sky Box Office pay-per-view card in the United Kingdom. No word yet on an outlet in the United States.
“What a way to start the new year. This is the fight that British boxing fans have been calling for,” said Boxxer’s Ben Shalom, Smith’s promoter.
Eubank and Smith will meet face to face at a news conference on Tuesday in London.
“Has he been in there with some good fighters? Yes. Are they on my level? No,” Eubank said of Smith. “He's a competent fighter, but class beats competence every day of the week. It's a good opportunity for me to show I'm twice the fighter that he is as well as those he has faced.”
Eubank has won six fights in a row since a decision loss to George Groves for the WBA super middleweight belt in 2018.
Smith suffered two of his losses in junior middleweight world title fights to Canelo Alvarez (by knockout in 2016) and Jamie Munguia (by decision in 2018) as well as a decision to unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov in May 2021. Since then, Smith has won three fights in a row, including against Anthony Fowler and former world titlist Jessie Vargas.
“He’s making a big mistake fighting me,” Smith said. “Every time he has stepped up to elite level, he has failed. I am elite and he will fall again on Jan. 21st in Manchester. For Chris this is a high-risk, low-reward. For me, it’s the perfect platform to show I will rule the world again in 2023. He needs to be prepared for the toughest night of his career.”
Moises Fuentes dies
Mexico’s Moises Fuentes, who held the WBO strawweight title from 2011 to 2013, died on Thursday. He was 37.
Fuentes’ death, which was announced by the WBC, was the result of complications from a traumatic brain injury he suffered in a devastating sixth-round knockout loss 13 months earlier.
In Fuentes’ final fight, undefeated up-and-comer David Cuellar brutally knocked him out on Oct. 16, 2021 at the Oasis Hotel in Cancun, Mexico.
Fuentes (25-7-1, 14 KOs) was taken from the ring on a stretcher and placed in a medically induced coma due to a blood clot on his brain. He had surgery and was eventually transferred to a Mexico City rehabilitation facility, according to the WBC. But he never recovered.
“Thank God, Moises Fuentes is already resting in peace,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said in a statement. “A warrior who fought to the last breath. Our condolences to his family and friends and our appreciation to his wife for her dedication and dedication with indescribable love during this difficult year of suffering.”
Fuentes finished with three knockout losses in a row and faced Cuellar coming off a three-year layoff following a fifth-round knockout to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez on the Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin II undercard in Las Vegas.
Fuentes boxed from 2007 to 2021. He won the WBO 105-pound title by split decision over Raul Garcia in 2011 and made two successful defenses, including the best win of his career over longtime champion Ivan Calderon, whom he stopped in the fifth round of what was the final fight of Calderon’s Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Fuentes would twice challenge Donnie Nietes for the WBO junior flyweight title in 2013 and 2014, fighting to a draw in the first fight and getting stopped in the ninth round of their rematch. Fuentes would also lose by fifth-round KO to Kosei Tanaka for that same belt in 2016.
In his final world title bout, Fuentes suffered a first-round knockout to Daigo Higa for the WBC flyweight title in 2018 in the bout before Fuentes faced Gonzalez.
Quick hits
Weights from Carson, Calif., for Saturday night’s PPV card (9 p.m. ET): Jose Zepeda 139.4 pounds, Regis Prograis 139 (for vacant WBC junior welterweight title); Evelyn Bermudez 106, Yokasta Valle 107.4 (for Bermudez’s IBF/WBO women’s junior flyweight title); Bakhodir Jalolov 247.6, Curtis Harper 260; Charles Conwell 153.8, Juan Carlos Abreu 154 (WBC semifinal junior middleweight title eliminator); Fernando Vargas Jr. 150, Alejandro Martinez 151.2; Nathan Rodriguez 123.4, Jerson Ortiz 123.8; Ruben Torres 136.2, Eduardo Estela 136; Alejandro Reyes 142.6, Daniel Perales 142.4; Amado Vargas 125.8, Osmar Olmos Hernandez 129.6; Austin Brooks 129, Jesus Roman 129.6; Mario Ramos 151.6, Geronimo Sacco 150; Eric Priest 160, Luis Alberto Vera 159.8; Jacob Macalolooy 146.8, Terrance Jarmon 144.
Weights from London for Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN: Dillian Whyte 251, Jermaine Franklin 257; Fabio Wardley 240, Nathan Gorman 271; Pat McCormack 152, Christian Nicols Andino 146; Sandy Ryan 139, Anahi Sanchez 138; Cheavon Clarke 199, Jose Gregorio Ulrich 195; Mark Dickinson 164, Gideon Onyenani 163; George Liddard 162, Nikola Matic 161; Thomas Carty 252, Pavlo Krolenko 242.
Weights from London for the Queensberry card Saturday on BT Sport/ESPN+: Zach Parker 167.3 pounds, John Ryder 167 (for vacant WBO interim super middleweight title); Hamzah Sheeraz 159.3, River Wilson-Bent 159.7 (for vacant Commonwealth middleweight title); Sam Noakes 134.6, Calvin McCord 135 (for vacant Commonwealth lightweight title); Dennis McCann 121.4, Joe Ham 121.5 (for vacant Commonwealth junior featherweight title); Pierce O’Leary 139.5, Emmanuel Mungandjela 139.9; Tommy Fletcher 201, Jiri Krejci 197.6; Sonny Ali 145.9, Georgi Velichkov 144.
Show and tell
In the first fight of the famed round robin of nine fights between legends Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler, Leonard and Duran kicked things off in 1980 with the first of their three fights. Duran, the former lightweight champion, won a 15-round decision in an upset to take Leonard’s WBC welterweight title. Leonard opted for the immediate rematch, which came five months later. While Leonard prepared diligently for the rematch, Duran was partying, celebrating the win in the first fight and put on a lot of weight.
When they met for the second time, before more than 25,000 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Leonard took control from the outset and while Duran had his moments and was in the fight, Leonard was frustrating him to no end with his speed and movement. Leonard began to taunt Duran, which also clearly ticked him off. Finally, late in the eighth round of the scheduled 15-rounder, Duran had had enough and walked away, famously shaking his glove to referee Octavio Meyran and infamously telling him “no mas” in one of the most famous endings to a big fight ever. Duran had shockingly quit and Leonard had regained the title in one of the biggest wins of his career. The fight was on Nov.25, 1980 — 42 years ago on Friday. Here is a very scarce thin cardboard site poster in my collection.
Zepeda-Prograis and Conwell photos: Tom Hogan; Whyte-Franklin photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Parker-Ryder photo: Queensberry Promotions
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Got to say that I think Fuentes' death should never have happened as this business of feeding old fighters who are clearly well past their prime, and often very inactive, to young, strong, up and coming fighters shouldn't be allowed to happen. I've never liked these sort of matchups and it's amazing that more older fighters don't experience acute brain damage during these fights.
I wish sanctioning bodies and commissions would look much more closely at the match-ups that they allow. The past year or so must have been terrible for Fuentes' family - my sincere condolences to them. RIP Moises Fuentes.