DAZN faced criticism for a boxing match between two fighters with nothing more to give to the most brutal of sports.
This week, it was announced that Jose Zepeda would face Ivan Redkach despite both being beaten down in their last fight through five rounds. Zepeda got stopped by Dalton Smith in the UK, while Redkach put on a horror showing when losing to Batyrzhan Jukembayev in Plant City.
Despite poor form of late and calls for retirement, Zepeda vs Redkach will occur at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula and will be broadcast live on DAZN.
Former World Boxing News chief writer Dan Rafael was one of those who aired his views about the contest.
“This s*** isn’t why anyone would or should subscribe. Pay me to watch this,” said Rafael before several others replied to the DAZN announcement in association with MarvNation.
One said, “Zepeda is washed and should have retired after the Prograis fight. Redkach shouldn’t have a license anymore.”
Another added, “Didn’t Zepeda say he would retire after losing to Dalton Smith?”
A third stated, “Absolutely dreadful stuff.”
Zepeda vs Redkach backlash
Calls of ‘who wants to see that’ were a common thread anywhere the fight got advertised. The consensus is that Zepeda has given everything he can to the sport, whereas Redkach has never reached a level where he could be truly competitive against the best.
At 35 and 38, respectively, Zepeda and Redkach were offered a return—potentially to fill in slots in the TV calendar, which seems to have bred the complaints.
Zepeda vs Redkach happens on September 6 as the pair stave off retirement for at least one more bout.
DAZN’s tagline was “Jose Zepeda looks to get back into contention at 140 against Ivan Redkach,” which also didn’t go down well. After the Smith beating, it’s believed Zepeda could suffer again if he steps up in class against anyone on the fringes of a title shot.
Sometimes, the decision to fight should be taken out of the fighter’s hands.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay. Learn more, read all articles from the experienced boxing writer, and follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
