Not even one full year ago (two fights ago) this kid was toiling away in more or less complete obscurity, having never competed on television - and not even two full years ago (five bouts ago) he was yet to even appear on a deep undercard broadcast or low-rent social media live stream. Anyone claiming they saw him before October 2019 is saying they were in Mexico and bought a ticket. His dismantling of feather-fisted but nonetheless highly-touted long-bodied jab-specialist Tanajara (previously an undefeated prospect with some hype around him from under the RGBA learning tree) was, admittedly, my first and only glimpse of him live. @CST80 had been wowed by him in his United States debut on the O'Shaquie Foster vs. Miguel Román undercard on NBC Sports Net last November (a card I missed entirely, celebrating my then-gf's b-day) and one previous unspecified time, but for the most part he was off everybody's radar until very recently. He is another of those 'overnight' success tales where the majority of bitter toil goes unseen without the illumination of the bright lights, until suddenly, one day, talent and consistent hard work dovetail with luck, and the right opportunities come at the right time for the right guy with the right attitude to perform optimally and really shine. He debuted in 2015 at just nineteen, and spent the next half-decade barnstorming across Mexico (the country) smashing anyone thrown in with him to pieces, the lion's share of them in México (his native state). Again, few if any of those domestic massacres had even a stringshoe-budget video crew present. You do something well enough, long enough, though, and you get noticed. You get put on GBP Fight Night shows on Facebook. Then, if you keep delivering the goods, and fortune smiles on you, somebody throws you on TV. Now, with consecutive upset stoppages of Roberto "Rifle" Ramírez Uriarte (who might have gotten a little more credit than due for knocking out Dejan Zlatičanin, considering the Montenegrin had been wrecked by Mikey García not long before) and now Hector "El Finito" Francisco Tanajara Jr., he is the talk of the town - and may soon have completely co-opted his chosen ring moniker and displaced its former bearer, Julián Christopher "El Camarón (The Shrimp)" Ramírez, from the collective boxing hive mind's memory. That kid - a southpaw as well, as it happens - was a talent, and well-connected as the nephew of legendary Genaro "Chicanito" Hernández, and had been making waves at featherweight before suffering his first pro defeat (widely derided as robbery) and just up & quit. I don't see this Jumbo-hearted decapod quitting anything, under any circumstances. He seems driven by a will bordering on demonic possession - though we haven't yet seen him face major adversity (like a bad cut in an inopportune location) or an elite major puncher. He is only 25 but plows ahead with the workmanlike maturity of a much older fighter, shrugging off feints and counter-punches alike without blinking, while still exhibiting the stamina only available to a youngster (provided they put in the dedicated effort to unlock its potential in training...and I can tell you with confidence despite not having seen it firsthand, El Camarón de San Mateo puts in long hours of road work). He punches like a mule, and with ample volume but also thoughtful & deliberate placement. I think we're going to enjoy watching him - and his already 91% rate of stoppage - rise for years to come. Anybody wondering: AFAIK no, he is no relation to fringe contender José Encarnación "Chon" Zepeda, who is also coincidentally a southpaw and was also formerly a lightweight (and close in proportions to William - an inch more in reach and less in height) but whom is, though of Mexican extraction himself, a U.S. born citizen. Zepeda vs. Óscar Alberto "Temible" Flores Altamirano: This content is protected (1:42:00 in) Zepeda vs. Jampier Josue Oses Vega: This content is protected (47:00 in) Zepeda vs. Brayam Alejandro Rico Pabón: This content is protected Zepeda vs. Roberto "Rifle" Ramírez Uriarte: This content is protected Zepeda vs. Hector "El Finito" Francisco Tanajara, Jr.: This content is protected
I couldn't find any hard numbers on his amateur record, but Zepeda was the Mexican national champ in 2004 and that same year, at 17, competed in the AIBA world championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. He defeated Vitali Fiodarau of Belarus, fellow lefty Azinga Fuzile of South Africa, then Turmandakh Danzanochir of Mongolia before ultimately being eliminated by eventual bronze medalist Ikboljon Kholdarov of Uzbekistan (yet another southpaw). He wasn't just learning on the job from the moment he turned pro, then, but also wasn't somebody with boatloads of international experience and groomed for stardom.
BTW, anybody watching that Zepeda vs. Ramírez video, no you're not having a stroke - it was mirror-imaged for some reason. Hence the graphics reading backwards and Zepeda seemingly boxing orthodox. He wasn't; the picture for the whole upload was just flipped on a vertical axis for some ungodly reason.
If the fight is being agressively persued by copywriter types it's a way uploaders use for avoiding the sniffer dogs. Pretty archaic now tbh. That's the reason you also sometimes get a fight in a small box in a YT window.
Mind also correcting my typo in his amateur credentials paragraph? He won the national championship in 2014...not 2004, when he was seven.
A true beast. I think he’s ready for a title shot. The way he beat up Tanajara is on par or better than any current title holders can do.
