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And New WBC Lightweight World Champion William Zepeda
Crowns Action-Packed Night With Unanimous Decision Victory
Over Lamont Roach
Photos: Cris Esqueda - Golden Boy
AND THE NEW WBC lightweight world champion William "El
Camarón" Zepeda (33-1, 27 KOs) of San Mateo Atenco,
Mexico, defeated former champion Lamont "The Reaper"
Roach Jr. (25-2-3, 10 KOs) of Washington, D.C., to
capture the WBC lightweight world title. Zepeda
showcased his trademark relentless pressure, throwing
884 punches over 12 championship rounds en route to a
unanimous decision with scores of 117-111, 117-111 and
118-110. The fight, an early Fight of the Year
candidate, headlined Golden Boy's inaugural event on TNT
Sports and DAZN's The Fight, a new monthly live boxing
series broadcast co-exclusively in the United States on
TNT and truTV and worldwide on DAZN. The event was
presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with
TGB Promotions and ProBox Promotions.
“I am overjoyed with this victory; this is 20 years of
hard work and sacrifice. I always dreamed of becoming a
world champion and today with my incredible team we were
able to achieve it,” said William Zepeda. “We were able
to show that I can be an adaptable fighter, that I can
box and that I can meet any opponent. Right now, I am
ready to rest and enjoy this victory with my family, and
we’ll see what’s next for us.”
In the co-main event, presented by Top Rank, Raymond
"Danger" Muratalla (25-0, 17 KOs) successfully defended
his IBF lightweight world championship for the second
time with a unanimous decision over former world
champion Robson "O Brabo" Conceição (21-4-1, 10 KOs) of
Salvador, Brazil. Muratalla faced a battle-tested
veteran who withstood his power throughout the fight,
but controlled the action to earn scores of 119-109,
119-109 and 118-110.
Also featured on the broadcast, Mexican Olympian and
undefeated contender Raul "El Cugar" Curiel (18-0-1, 14
KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico, earned a majority decision
over Houston's Quintin "QuickDraw" Randall (17-4-1, 4
KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight bout. Curiel
prevailed with scores of 100-90, 97-93 and 95-95.
Opening the televised broadcast, Charles "Bad News"
Conwell (22-1, 16 KOs) of Cleveland delivered a
statement victory over Philadelphia's Paul Kroll
(12-1-2, 8 KOs) in a hard-fought 10-round super
welterweight contest. After scoring a knockdown in the
third round, Conwell closed the show with a TKO at 2:38
of Round 9.
On the preliminary card, Tijuana, Mexico's Juan Becerril
(3-0, 2 KOs) pulled off a stunning upset by stopping Las
Vegas prospect Dylan "La Amenaza" Capetillo (2-1, 1 KO)
via third-round TKO in their scheduled four-round super
lightweight bout. Capetillo had scored a first-round
knockdown and was ahead on the scorecards before
Becerril rallied for the stoppage. Bakersfield,
California's Joel Iriarte (11-0, 10 KOs) successfully
defended his WBA Continental Gold welterweight title
against Tijuana's Jorge Lagunas (19-10, 16 KOs).
Scheduled for eight rounds, the bout was stopped by the
referee at 2:48 of the eighth and final round. Still
undefeated, Orange, California's Fabian Guzman (11-0, 8
KOs) added another victory to his record with a
unanimous decision over Oakland's Aaron Coley (17-6-2, 7
KOs) in an eight-round middleweight bout. Guzman fought
through a cut over his left eye caused by an accidental
clash of heads to earn scores of 78-74, 78-74 and 79-73.
Mexican Olympian Gael "El Terror" Cabrera (12-0, 7 KOs)
of Sonora, Mexico, remained unbeaten with a unanimous
decision over veteran Francisco Portillo (20-15-2, 11
KOs) of Tijuana in an eight-round super bantamweight
bout. The judges scored the contest 80-72, 79-73 and
79-73 in Cabrera's favor. Kicking off the evening,
unbeaten Waianae, Hawaii, native Dalis Kaleiopu (9-0, 7
KOs) scored a spectacular first-round knockout over
Philadelphia's Yeyery Castillo (14-3, 11 KOs). In their
scheduled six-round lightweight bout, Kaleiopu landed a
thunderous punch that nearly sent Castillo through the
ropes, ending the fight at 2:37 of the opening round.
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