William Zepeda Defeats Former Champion in Rene Alvarado!
On the undercard of former WBO 168-pound champion Gilberto Ramirez vs Dominic Boesel, ranked lightweight contender William “Camaron” Zepeda (26-0, 23KOs) took on former WBA 130-pound champion Rene “Gemelo” Alvarado (32-12, 21KOs). The hard-hitting Zepeda, ranked #5 in the WBO, #6 in the WBA, and #14 in the WBC, was up against by far the best fighter of his career.
A monstrous puncher, Zepeda built up a reputation as a guy that could disconnect his opponent’s senses at any point of the fight. This was evident by his 23 knockouts in 25 fights.
As for Alvarado, he came into this fight with a wealth of experience, having shared the ring with the likes of Yuriokis Gamboa, Lamont Roach, Roger Gutierrez, and Andrew Cancio. While he has double digit losses, only one of those losses came by way of knockout.
From the moment the bell rang, both men came forward and let their hands go. Alvarado, who was making his lightweight debut, immediately elected to fight power with power. That is something Zepeda welcomed. A southpaw, the Mexican hard hitter did good body work early on. However, as the fight went on, he would abandon this strategy as he decided to headhunt.
Alvarado, an experienced veteran, showed why his chin was so respected. Taking huge shots to the chin, in particular right hooks, straight left hands, and right uppercuts, he refused to wilt. He started to have success of his own, as he doubled up his jab and followed it up with left hooks and straight right hands to both the head and body of Zepeda.
In the middle rounds, Alvarado mixed up his boxing and fighting, which caused problems for Zepeda. However, none of this deterred the unbeaten contender as he fired off some nice, hard, quick combinations.
This fight was close throughout as both men had their moments. Ultimately, when it was all said and done, it would be Zepeda who had his hand raised. He would win by way of a unanimous decision. The scores were 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94.
With the most significant win of his career, it’ll be interesting to see who Golden Boy puts William Zepeda in with next.
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By: Jerrell Fletcher
