ARLINGTON, TX (April 29, 2023): Continuing his ascension through the lightweight division, the still undefeated knockout artist and WBA Continental Americas Lightweight Champion William “El Camarón” Zepeda (28-0, 24 KOs) of San Mateo, Mexico made a resounding statement with an awe-inspiring, second round victory over Curundu, Panama’s Jaime “Jaimito” Arboleda (19-3, 14 KOs). Zepeda went straight to the body and sent the resilient Arboleda to the mat three times until the referee stopped the match at 2:16 in the second round.
“We prepared for a complicated fight, he was hungry to make a point,” said William “El Camarón” Zepeda. “We had planned to go to the body the first couple of rounds and end it at the top, but we were able to finish the job early with just getting him at the body. I will prove to the world that I am the best at 135. I want to fight the best world champions out there. I signed up for boxing not ballet.”
Special guests of the night included Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya, NFL Free Agent Jaylon Smith, WBC Middleweight World Champion Jermall Charlo, Professional Boxer Frank Martin, Blue-chip prospect Floyd Schofield, and super flyweight prospect John “Scrappy” Ramirez. The 12-round main event was presented in association with Sampson Boxing and was broadcast live worldwide on DAZN from College Park Center at The University of Texas at Arlington campus.
In the co-main event, Victor “El Tornado” Morales, Jr. (18-0-1, 9 KOs) pulled a stunning, upset win over household name Diego De La Hoya (24-2, 11 KOs), handing De La Hoya his second career loss to become the new WBA Intercontinental Featherweight Titlist. Scheduled for 10-rounds, the fight made it to 1:08 in the second round when Morales landed a debilitating liver shot. De La Hoya attempted to get back up, but the pain was too much, and the referee waved the fight off.
“I wanted Diego to know that the power was there,” said Victor “El Tornado” Morales, Jr. “We called him out because I needed an opponent to bring out the best in me. I feel like I’m one of the best in my division, but I needed a good dance partner to prove it. I took the first round to figure him out and check his chin because I knew he was dehydrated. In the second I just hit the gas, no brakes. This title is the first of many more titles I know I am going to fight for.”
In an action-packed bout that led the crowd “oohing” and “ahhing” Chicago’s Frederick “General Okunka” Lawson (30-3, 22 KOs) and Estevan “Manos De Oro” Villalobos (16-2-1, 12 KOs) of Mount Vernon, Washington went to work in a scheduled 10-round super welterweight bout. The judges scored the bout unanimously in favor for Lawson with scores of 97-93, 96-94, and 96-94.
Opening up the DAZN broadcast with eight-rounds of super middleweight action, Reading, Pennsylvania’s David “Dynamite” Stevens (13-0, 9 KOs) went the distance against Marco Periban (26-7-1, 17 KOs) of Mexico City. The two went toe-to-toe, Stevens managing to box from the outside well. Stevens’ gloves hit the canvas in the third round due to a combined punch/ headbutt that sent him to the mat. The judges scored the fight 78-73, 77-74, and 78-73 unanimously for Stevens.
On the preliminary card, Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth (10-1, 7 KOs) of Duncanville, Texas went the distance against Jonathon “The Reaper” Rice (2-3, 2 KOs) of Cleburne, Texas in a six-round heavyweight fight. The fans in the arena could hear the thundering blows being thrown by “Sweet T” in the tight match up. All three judges scored the bout 59-55, awarding Kalkreuth the unanimous decision win.
Also a part of the preliminary fights, another dazzling young prospect Caleb Suniga (2-0, 1 KO) of Austin, Texas knocked out his opponent, Chichigalpa, Nicaragua’s Carlos Arroyo (5-23-1, 4 KOs), with a left uppercut at 0:41 in the first round in a scheduled four-round super featherweight fight.
Darius “DFG” Fulghum (4-0, 4 KOs) of Houston defeated Jay Williams (4-11, 3 KOs) of West Monroe, Louisiana in a scheduled six-round light heavyweight bout. Bendana tasted the canvas several times throughout the fight due to losing his balance from the power behind Fulghum’s punches. The referee waved the fight off at 0:58 in the second round, awarding Fulghum the TKO.
Opening the Zepeda vs. Arboleda fight night with fireworks, Robert “El Terror de Cayey” Cruz (9-0, 5 KOs) of Killeen, Texas defeated Houston’s Tyrone “Solja Black” Selders (9-16-2, 6 KOs) via second round TKO at 1:48 in the scheduled six-round middleweight bout. The referee stopped the fight when Selders was overwhelmed by the flurry of punches thrown by Cruz.
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Zepeda vs. Arboleda was a 12-round fight for the WBA Continental Americas Lightweight Title and was presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Sampson
Boxing. The event was sponsored by “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts,” The fight took place on Saturday, April 29 at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas and was streamed live worldwide on
DAZN.
