…Ring Magazine Call It The Fight Of The Year: Zepeda Vs. Baranchyk
If a fight that lasts just five rounds has no less than eight knockdowns featured, you know it was just that – a FIGHT. And back on October 3 in Las Vegas, 140-pound warriors Jose Zepeda and Ivan Baranchyk gave us one heck of a special fight.
A fight so great, so action-packed, so crammed full with switching momentums, Bob Arum called it “the best fight I’ve seen since Foreman-Lyle.”
And now, the folks at Ring Magazine have given the slugfest that was won by Zepeda their Fight Of The Year award.
It’s tough to argue. Both men gave their all, the knockdowns came thick and fast, and the KO to end the brutal fight was also special, with Zepeda crumpling Baranchyk with a big left hand to the head in round five.
There’s no doubt about it; this fight was everything that is great about the sport of boxing. It is fights like this one that keeps up coming back like hopeless addicts.
To sum up the awesome action:
Zepeda was downed twice in the opening round, and it looked as though it was going to be Baranchyk’s night.
Instead, Zepeda came back in round two, scoring a knockdown of his own. Then, incredibly, Baranchyk roared back himself to send Zepeda down for the third time! And this was only the second round.
Baranchyk was sent down for the second time in the third, and then for a third time in the fourth. Zepeda was the fighter who could retain his physical energy, with Baranchyk’s gas tank slowly emptying. But there was yet more drama to come.
In the fifth round, Zepeda was sent stumbling into the ropes; this ruled a knockdown by Kenny Bayless (this the seventh knockdown of the wild rumble). But then, moments later, Zepeda closed the show with his crushing left hand.
Baranchyk’s senses blasted; the jaw-dropper of a slugfest was over. Instantly, talk of Fight of The Year awards was to be heard, with some fans/experts going further, calling the fight The Fight of The Decade!
Now, will 2021 perhaps bring us a Zepeda vs? Baranchyk II? Who on earth wouldn’t want to see a sequel?