William Zepeda and Maxi Hughes pose after the press convention forward of their March 16 WBA/IBF light-weight title eliminator at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Photograph Credit score: Cris Esqueda, Golden Boy
LAS VEGAS–William Zepeda and Maxi Hughes are match to combat.
The pair of Ring prime ten light-weight contenders each made weight forward of their WBA and IBF title eliminator. Zepeda (29-0, 25 knockouts), No. 5 at 135, weighed 133.8 kilos through the Nevada State Athletic Fee-supervised ceremony. Hughes (26-5-2, 5 KOs), No. 9 at 135, tipped the scales at 134.6 kilos.
DAZN will air their scheduled twelve-round bout this Saturday from Chelsea Theater at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Zepeda is very rated by all 4 sanctioning our bodies. His profession picked up vital steam after an October 2022 factors win over former IBF 130-pound titlist Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz. The win was his second straight to go to the playing cards after a 15-fight knockout streak. The 27-year-old southpaw from San Mateo Atenco, Mexico has since stopped his final two opponents.
Most just lately, Zepeda halted former title challenger Mercito Gesta within the sixth spherical final September 16 in Commerce, California.
Hughes hopes for a fairer shake than was the case his earlier journey overseas final summer season.
Many viewers felt the 34-year-0ld Yorkshire southpaw did sufficient to beat former Ring champ George Kambosos Jr. final July 22 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The judges disagreed and awarded Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs), No. 8 at 135, with a majority resolution win.
Kambosos will subsequent face Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs), No. 1 at 135, for the vacant IBF title. They meet Could 12 in Perth, Australia.
Hughes would love nothing extra to avenge the questionable defeat, or for the prospect to face the extremely regarded Lomachenko. His setback versus Kambosos snapped a career-best seven-fight win streak. The run included wins over Jono Carroll, Viktor Kotochigov and Child Galahad. Hughes entered because the B-side for every of these fights however ruined future plans for all three.
Beneath are the load for the total DAZN undercard, which begins at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. native time.
Floyd Schofield (16-0, 12 KOs), Austin, Texas, 134.8 kilos vs. Esteuri Suero (13-1, 10 KOs), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 135 kilos—10 rounds, light-weight
Eric Priest (12-0, 8 KOs), Los Angeles by way of Wichita Falls, Texas, 159.6 kilos vs. Jose Sanchez (21-4-1, 12 KOs), Reynosa, Mexico, 160 kilos—10 rounds, middleweight
Tristan Kalkreuth (12-1, 9 KOs), Carrollton, Texas, 198.6 kilos vs. Marquice Weston (15-2-1, 8 KOs), Tacoma, Washington, 201.6 kilos—8 rounds, cruiserweight
Joel Iriarte (professional debut), Bakersfield, California, 145.2 kilos vs. Bryan Carguacundo (3-5-2, 0 KOs), Las Vegas by way of Santo Domingo, Ecuador, 142.8 kilos—4 rounds, welterweight
Jake Donovan is a senior author for The Ring and vice chairman of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America.Comply with @JakeNDaBox
