Maxi Hughes’ bid to cause another upset proved unsuccessful at Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, as William Zepeda proved much too strong, forcing the Englishman to retire between rounds four and five of their WBA and IBF lightweight title final eliminator.
Hughes (26-6-2, 5 KOs) had been enjoying an Indian summer to his career before last night’s clash with Zepeda, with several recent upset wins against the likes of Kid Galahad, Ryan Walsh and Jovanni Straffon, and was considered unfortunate to lose his IBO title to George Kambosos Jr in his most recent outing, as the Aussie took a contentious majority decision.
Zepeda (30-0, 26 KOs) arrived attempting to break through to world title level, and he was last seen last September, knocking Mercito Gesta out in six rounds.
This one was one-sided for as long as it lasted, with Hughes unable to negate the sheer volume of punches that were coming his way from the Mexican.
Hughes did briefly have success in the opener with his jab, but that was as good as it got for the man from Doncaster, as Zepeda ramped up the work to the body in the second, with Hughes clearly troubled, and the third saw more assaults to the body of Hughes, with the attacks relentless.
By the fourth, Hughes was in survival mode, with the attacks not seeming to cease from Zepeda, and with the one-way traffic continuing, Hughes’ corner pulled him out ahead of the fifth round.
Relentless through 4 tonight. William Zepeda ends the night with a statement win 🇲🇽#ZepedaHughes | LIVE on DAZN pic.twitter.com/qKWJJfCqZh
— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) March 17, 2024
Undercard review
On the undercard, Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) took a disqualification win against Esteuri Suero (13-2, 10 KOs), as the Dominican was thrown out in the fifth round for persistent fouling. Suero had already ben deducted two points, one for a shoulder charge, and the other for throwing Schofield to the canvas. After more foul play and low shots in round five, the referee had seen enough, and called a halt to the contest set for ten a lightweight.
At middleweight, Eric Priest (13-0, 8 KOs) remained undefeated, as he took a points win over ten rounds against Jose Sanchez Charles (21-5-1, 12 KOs), and cruiserweight prospect Tristan Kalkreuth (13-1, 10 KOs) halted Marquice Weston (15-3-1, 8 KOs) in the second round of a scheduled eight. A left hand scrambled the senses of Weston, and the fight was over.
Debutant Joel Iriarte (1-0, 1 KO) got off to a winning start, as he stopped Bryan Carguacundo (3-6-2, 0 KOs) in two rounds at welterweight.
