ONTARIO, CA — William Zepeda beat Giovanni Cabrera in the third round of a wild, all-Mexican shootout Saturday at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
“We’re going for that world title,” Zepeda said after his win was announced at the event World Boxing News attended.
Zepeda, 28, is continually fighting the best opponents of his 31-bout career, defeating Joseph Diaz, Maxi Hughes, and now Cabrera, amongst others, in a 20-month span.
It will not be long before he is thrust into even greater challenges against one of, or more of, the world championship title holders in the division, where he’ll put his swarming boxing style up against the best in his weight class.
That style, one in which he can throw close to 1,000 punches in most fights, is something his promoters Oscar de la Hoya and Bernard Hopkins told us sets him apart, and will see him, they said, at least compete with, if not dominate, the 135-pound’s top talents.
On Saturday, in Southern California, WBN saw that volume punching ability up close — but from Cabrera, as well as Zepeda, as the visiting Chicago boxer started the fight strong, and even forced Zepeda backward with what the referee deemed a push, rather than a shove.
This was a scrap, with both guys looking to throw wonton shots from all angles, all the time. They’d box at close range and exchange body shots and uppercuts in an apparent war to determine who had the better stamina.
By the second round, Zepeda was back to his usual standards, going from throwing 56 punches in the first to 95 in the second, and then the 77 in the third was all it took to close the show.
This time, it was Zepeda’s attention to the body which paid dividends for him as he dropped Cabrera in the third — prompting the referee to step in and wave it all off.
The finishing sequence saw Zepeda take a straight punch to the jaw so that he could unleash his own arsenal of shots, including a nasty dig to the body before lefts and rights to the jaw.
It was all over.
“He got me right in the liver,” Cabrera said. “After a few seconds, I thought I was going to get up for sure, then it was ‘ten,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ I lost track of the count.”
“I’ve fought some great opposition,” Zepeda said. “And I feel I’m one of the top of the division. We’re going to look for the opportunity to become world champion.”
He finished: “I’ve done my homework and now it’s time for Oscar de la Hoya to do his homework, put the opponent in front of me, and tell me what time and where’s the dance.”
Alan Dawson is World Boxing News Lead Writer, a 2 x Sports Journalist of the Year finalist, and 5 x BWAA awards winner. Follow Alan @AlanDawsonSport.
