William Zepeda Outworks Jo Jo Diaz to Earn a Critical Victory!
On October 29, Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz (32-3-1, 15KO) and William “Camaron” Zepeda (26-0, 23KO) staged a lightweight contest with possible title implications. Jo Jo entered on a campaign for vengeance while Zepeda came hunting for a shot at a world championship.
Camaron wanted to step out of the shadows and into the title contention. Ranked #6 (WBO), #8 (WBA), and #13 (WBC), the hard-hitting Mexican took on his toughest opponent to date. He scored a victory over former WBA ‘regular’ champion Rene Alvarado in his last outing on May 14.
Jo Jo entered the fight looking for a revenge against undisputed champion Devin Haney. Diaz was defeated soundly by the undisputed champion in 2021 and has been given an opportunity to possibly get a rematch. The former IBF junior lightweight has never been knocked down, which could change against Zepeda.
ZEPEDA’S WORK-RATE WAS A FACTOR EARLY
Being the bigger puncher, Zepeda turned up the heat early, landing power combinations that kept Diaz in defense mode. Camaron would mix up the attacks by ending combinations with hard right hands on the body.
Diaz had spurts of success that halted Zepeda’s attack. He would land a solid jab, uppercut, and left hook here. However, he couldn’t capitalize on it as he was back in defense mode after being hit by six unanswered shots from Zepeda.
In the middle rounds, the former IBF junior lightweight champion landed a hard right hook off a catch and shoot counter. Furthermore, he started finding a home for the left uppercut that put Zepeda on the backfoot.
Zepeda lost some snap on his punches but was still throwing at a high rate. He even landed a good body shot and right uppercut to take back control of the fight.
FINISHING STRONG DOWN THE STRETCH
The championship rounds produced the most activity in an already action-packed bout. Diaz came out on fire with crisp punches in between Zepeda’s flurry. He scored a few counter right hooks followed by a double left uppercut.
Zepeda kept the heat coming by throwing even more punches. He landed an impressive seven-punch flurry that had the crowd cheering. In his first twelve-round fight, Camaron’s work-rate never faltered.
At the sound of the final bell, the crowd applauded both fighters. One judge scored it 118-110, and the other two saw it 119-109 for Zepeda. This marks the biggest win of Zepeda’s career. The division is officially on notice of his arrival.
By: Garrisson Bland
