On Saturday night, the 23-year-old Josue “The Prodigy” Vargas (19-2, 9 KOs) took on longtime title challenger, Jose Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs) in a scheduled 12 round main event bout in New York City on ESPN.
Both men entered the bout in the hopes of earning a world title opportunity.
Vargas looked to prove himself against heightened competition. He had impressed in the majority of his previous bouts, but questions persisted in regards to how he’d match against the elite of the division. In taking a bout against Zepeda, The Prodigy was offered a clear opportunity to prove himself against a former title challenger.
Zepeda, coming off a fairly underwhelming performance in a unanimous decision victory over Hank Lundy (following his fight of the year against Ivan Baranchyk), looked to earn another world title shot by providing a strong performance. Having failed in his two previous attempts to achieve gold, Zepeda’s opportunities dwindled entering Saturday night.
The lead up to the fight was surrounded by trash talk and gamesmanship aimed at Zepeda and his camp. In response to the incessant extracurriculars and claims to having “won” the face-off and weigh-in, the mild mannered Zepeda remained calm, not allowing the young fighter to get under his skin (albeit losing his cool momentarily at the weigh-in.)
The bout itself began to an eruption of fanfare for the hometown Vargas and ended in a stunned silence.
Zepeda delivered a devastating left hand in the opening minutes of the bout, sending the young contender flying to the canvas.
Vargas, stumbling and unsteady, returned to his feet only to be met by a cool and calculated veteran who was ready for the kill.
Only moments later, Zepeda trapped the young fighter in the corner of the ring and finished the job in spectacular fashion with a barrage of punches.
For Vargas, the talking did nothing but poke a sleeping bear and resulted in what could be a career-altering knockout loss.
In a picturesque first-round knockout over a highly touted prospect, Jose Zepeda has solidified his spot as a true contender in the division and once again proved he is capable of delivering exhilarating performances.
