Boxing Challenge: Zepeda Knocks Out Baranchyk in Fight of the Year

The term "War" is often overused in boxing as it seems that social media is filled with promotional companies and Twitter accounts claiming each good fight was an absolute "War" in order to show that their company/promotion/managerial team is the best etc.

However, there are the rare nights that you are watching something special and no adjectives need to be applied- you just enjoy the show.

Jose Zepeda's fifth-round knockout of former IBF junior welterweight champion Ivan Baranchyk offered as much as you could ask for from a fight.

Action, knockdowns from both fighters, constant swings in momentum, never a certainty in which fighter was going to have their hand raised, and the conclusive knockout that leaves no doubt of the victor all were part of this story.

The number one contender in the WBC was decided in the bout and the victory placed Zepeda into position to face the Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor winner or for a vacant title, should that winner decide to vacate immediately.

But the more important note, in the long run, is what Zepeda and Baranchyk created in their just under fifteen minutes of violence- the memory of what may have been the best fight since Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo I.

I'll try to be concise with this recap of the action.

Round 1: Baranchyk scores a knockdown

                Baranchyk scores another knockdown

Round 2: Baranchyk charges out of the corner to finish Zepeda.

                Zepeda scores a knockdown and seems on the verge of ending the fight.

                Baranchyk scores a knockdown as Zepeda bulls him along the ropes in an attempt to finish Baranchyk.

Round 3: Zepeda drops Baranchyk 

Round 4  Zepeda knocks down Baranchyk

Round 5: With thirty-five seconds to go in the round, Baranchyk lands a right hand that sends Zepeda flying into the corner with only the turnbuckle keeping Zepeda standing, referee Kenny Bayliss correctly scores this a knockdown.

Bayliss gives the standing eight count, Baranchyk moves forward in another attempt to stop Zepeda.

With Zepeda's back to the ropes, Zepeda lands a right hand that turns Baranchyk directly into a left hook that sent Baranchyk's right leg curling underneath his falling body as he lands in a position that usually equals torn knee ligaments in the NFL.

Fight over.

Eight knockdowns ( four for each man) and what seemed to be a ninth was ruled no knockdown in the second by referee Kenny Bayliss as Zepeda stepped inside a Baranchyk hook and clipped him with a right, but Bayliss must have thought it was from tangling of feet.

The entire fifth round sequence I described was less than twenty seconds, but it's twenty seconds of combat that you would be fortunate to see at all, but to see it live?

Well, that is very special.

ESPN's Steve Kim had a terrific idea of showing this entire fight on ESPN (This was the main event on ESPN+) during the telecast of Vasily Lomachenko-Teofimo Lopez on the 17th and I love the idea.

If you can watch that and not walk away after enjoying it, then there is no hope in boxing ever grasping your heart as a fan.

This has to be the fight of the year unless something better comes along before the year ends (Good luck beating this one) and might be the knockout of the year, although Alexander Povetkin's one-punch knockout of Dillian Whyte will give Zepeda-Baranchyk a run for its money in that category.

Best fight since Corrales-Castillo I?

I might say so, but give me a bit to ponder whether it is better than 2013 (Timothy Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov) or 2014's  (Lucas Matthysse-John Molina) fight of the year.

I would clearly give Zepeda-Baranchyk the edge over any other fight since Corrales-Castillo I in 2005.

Should there be a rematch?

Well, action-wise it certainly would seem warranted, but Zepeda will be reluctant to risk a guaranteed title shot and I'm not sure that a rematch would be just as good as this one.

Entering this fight, Zepeda was considered more of a boxer than a puncher and who knows what Zepeda will have remaining after this one, let alone Baranchyk, who was whisked to the hospital as a preventative measure after the final concussive left hook.

It's very possible that Zepeda could see what he did wrong in this fight and choose to do what he does best- box Baranchyk, and win with a lot more ease if not more style.

The best fights often come when a boxer is forced to slug 

Ivan Baranchyk made Jose Zepeda fight in the manner that Baranchyk wished and still, it was Zepeda emerging victorious.

Perhaps the best thing might be to leave this one on the shelf alone and let it stand for itself.

Should Zepeda pick up one of those sure to be vacated belts, the rematch could always be made, but for now, let's keep this one as a one-volume set.

Entitle it- "One Boiling Night in A Bubble"...

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each added one point for the Zepeda victory.

I lead the challenge 129-118.

Boxing Challenge: Inoue annihilates Rodriguez, Taylor, Saunders win titles.

The European version of the boxing weekend saw the World Boxing Super Series fill their final matchups in the division and saw another title change hands at another location for three championships to have new owners at the end of the day.

The star of the day had to be Naoya Inoue, who knocked down Emmanuel Rodriguez three times in the second round, twice with body shots, to win the IBF bantamweight title and advance to the finals of the WBSS, where Inoye will attempt to unify his title with WBA champion Nonito Donaire.
Donaire has been more than fortunate in making the finals with his win over Ryan Burnett coming when Burnett had to surrender with a back injury and Zolani Tete having to pull out of the tournament late in the week to be replaced by Stephon Young and I'm afraid this one could end up with a very sad ending.
I had written that Rodriguez was going to give Inoue some problems and he did for one round.
Rodriguez showed no fear of Inoue and the first round was pretty even and could have been scored for either fighter.
Round two was a different story once Inoue landed the left hook that essentially ended the fight, although Rodriguez showed tons of courage in getting up from that and then again from another hook to the body that dropped him to the mat.
It was only a matter of time and Inoue ended it with another body shot that floored Rodriguez.
For Inoue, another destruction in victory and I can't find anyone that gives the aging Donaire any type of chance in the WBSS finals.
Assuming that's the case and assuming Inoye won't be worried about unifying the division (winning over Donaire would give him two of the four titles and had Zolaini Tete not been injured before the Donaire fight, the winner of the final would have three of the four) against WBO champion Zolani Tete or WBC champion Nordine Ouabaali, I suppose Inoue could either wait for one of the best junior bantams to move up in Juan Francisco Estrada or Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, but he might try to rise in weight himself to junior featherweight where an Inoue vs the winner of fall's expected three title unification fight between Danny Roman and Rey Vargas would have some appeal.

In the other WBSS tussle from Glasgow, Josh Taylor won a unanimous decision to take away Ivan Baranchyk's IBF junior welterweight title and set up a WBSS final that will not only pit the top two seeds against each other but create a 50/50 fight as well.
Taylor knocked Baranchyk down twice in the sixth round and looked to be on the verge of finishing the champion, who showed grit in surviving the round and was actually fighting better down the stretch than earlier in the fight.
Baranchyk was landing his share in the final two rounds and even though Taylor wasn't seriously hurt, Baranchyk never stopped trying to pull a victory out of the blue.
I scored Taylor a 116-110 winner (8-4 plus a 10-7 sixth round) and that was in the range of the judge's cards which had Taylor winning by eight (a little too much) and twice by four (a little too close)
Taylor will unify his newly won championship with that of WBA champion Regis Prograis and this one is one that I am anxiously awaiting.
I lean slightly to Prograis in the finals, but Taylor is more than capable of winning the tournament.
The fight may very well come down to where the fight is held with a crowd playing a part in the result.

The final part of the weekend in England saw the return of Billy Joe Saunders, who won the WBO super middleweight crown vacated by Gilberto Ramirez in the usual sleep-inducing fashion by a unanimous decision over outmatched Shefat Isufi.
Saunders never hurt Isufi, nor seemed to even try to turn up the heat as he won almost every round on my card 119-109 (11-1), but showed nothing to change anyone's mind about fighting a slick boxing southpaw that isn't going to bring you a big payday or be willing to stand in front and fight.
In other words, Saunders is more trouble to potential opponents than what he's worth.

Heavyweight Joe Joyce knocked out Alexander Ustinov in the third round.
I'm not sure what the future will hold for the former Olympic silver medalist, who hits with power, but is painfully slow.
If Joyce can take a good punch, he could be Ray Mercer, good enough to fight a long time and win enough to stay relevant, but never an elite heavyweight.
If Joyce's chin proves to be less than world class, he's going to lose a lot because he's going to outbox no one.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica picked up twelve points to my eleven on the weekend.
I picked five of the six winners and results correctly, but Ramon nailed all six winners and results to gain a point.
My lead now stands at 132-116.

Boxing Challenge: Jacobs edges Dereyvanchenko

The boxing weekend began in beautiful Bulgaria before traveling to the Big Easy and the Big Apple to finish with somewhat of a flourish.

The biggest fight of the weekend took place in New York City as Daniel Jacobs nipped Sergiy Dereyvanchenko via a split decision to win the vacant IBF middleweight title.
I scored Jacobs a 114-113 winner with the difference being a first-round knockdown scored by Jacobs.
Dereyvanchenko hurt Jacobs more often over the course of the fight than in reverse, but Jacobs managed to stay up and that gave him the win on my scorecard, which seemed to be closer than most of the press.
Jacobs should be the most likely opponent for Canelo Alvarez in May, considering both champions are contracted with DAZN in what would put the IBF title back with the WBA and WBC titles before it was stripped from Gennady Golovkin earlier this year.

The co-feature saw Alberto Machado impressively dispose of Yaundale Evans in the first round to retain his minor title, dropping Evans three times before the referee called the mismatch off.
The lanky banging Machado might be a tough out for anyone at 130 pounds, but with his size, I could see him moving to the lightweight division and have little problems with strength.

New Orleans was the host for two World Boxing Super Series scraps in the junior welterweight tournament with the main event featuring top seed and local product Regis Prograis dominate former WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan to retain his minor title via a unanimous decision to move the next round in the tournament.
Prograis dominated throughout and dropped Flanagan to his knees in the ninth for the first time in Flanagan's career.
I scored Prograis a 118-109 winner, which seemed to be in line with most.
Prograis will battle WBA champion Kiryl Relikh in the semi-finals.

In the other quarter-final, Ivan Baranchyk earned the vacant IBF belt when Anthony Yigit was unable to continue due to a virtually closed eye in the seventh round.
I had Baranchyk far ahead and the eye brought to mind the puffed eye that Rocky Balboa asked Mickey to cut in his first fight with Apollo Creed as Fred Landucci commented on when we discussed this fight.
I thought it was a good decision to end the fight because Yigit wasn't going to be able to keep Baranchyk off of him anyway and the eye was only going to make things worse for the wounded Swede.
The new IBF champion will face the winner of next weekend's Josh Taylor-Ryan Martin fight in the semi-finals.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, veteran Kubrat Pulev won a unanimous decision over Hughie Fury to become the top contender in the IBF ratings, which means an eventual shot at Anthony Joshua's championship.
Fury looked to be the stronger fighter early, but a Pulev jab in the second round tore open a gash along Fury's and slowly took the starch out of the Englishman, but didn't exactly leave Joshua concerned about his eventual challenge.
I scored Pulev a 116-112 winner.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica outscored me seven to five over the weekend and cut my lead to 177-154.

Boxing Challenge: Prograis crushes Indongo

Showtime stepped up its ShoBox series from prospect level to serious championship challengers for titles in the 140-pound division with a two-fight slate in the boxing hotbed of Deadwood, South Dakota.

In the main event for the "Interim" title of the WBC, who hasn't even filled their real title in the junior welterweight division, Regis Prograis of New Orleans smoked former WBA and IBF champion Julius Indongo in just two rounds to not only win himself a trinket,but make himself a live contender to defeat any 140 pounder around.
Prograis dropped Indongo late in the first round and finished him with three second-round knockdowns.
I thought the final knockdown was arguable, but the legs of Indongo were gone and the stoppage was inevitable, so I was fine with the fight's ending.
Indongo had the disadvantage of being a late substitute for Viktor Postol, but from what I saw Indongo would have had problems taking the punches from Prograis no matter how much he was given to prepare.
Often times in boxing, a fighter's ability to take punches can change drastically and permanently after one fight and it appears that the loss to Terence Crawford may have done just that to Julius Indongo.
Keep an eye on his next few fights, it's possible Regis Prograis is that good of a puncher, but it could be that Indongo has lost the capacity to take a good shot.
As for Prograis, he proved a great deal in mowing down a former champion with ease, although time may show that he happened to be the first guy to fight a faded fighter, and with 18 KO's in 21 wins, Prograis is going to be a tough out for the winner of the Jose Ramirez-Amir Imam bout ( My money is on Ramirez there) and a possible Ramirez-Prograis fight might be one of the better fights this year.
I'd be extremely interested in seeing that one.

In the co-feature and eliminator for the IBF version of the junior welterweight title, Ivan Baranchyk ran over former lightweight contender Petr Petrov in eight rounds to earn the mandatory position for the winner of the Sergey Lipinets-Mikey Garcia fight later tonight from San Antonio.
Baranchyk scored knockdowns in the first, second and sixth rounds and was simply too big and too strong for Petrov, who was taking the fight on a week's notice and moving up from the lightweight division as a replacement for Anthony Yegit of Sweden.
I cannot imagine Mikey Garcia defending against Baranchyk (though he'd likely beat him), so my guess is that a Garcia win will eventually result in a vacated belt that Baranchyk would likely fight for.

In the boxing challenge-both Ramon Malpica and I earned one point for Baranchyk's win and no others as we both picked the shell of Julius Indongo against Regis Prograis.
I lead the challenge 37-29.