Those inside the boxing world were as flabbergasted as the fans by the Jose Zepeda-Ivan Baranchyk brawl on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The fighters went down four times each in a Fight of the Year candidate that ended when Zepeda stopped Baranchyk with a right-left combination in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight fight.
Baranchyk lay on the canvas for four minutes before he was able to sit up and eventually walked out of the ring. He reportedly remains in a hospital today but is doing well.
Here are some reactions from inside the boxing world.
Allow us to present: 48 Seconds of Insanity
All 8 knockdowns from the 4+ rounds of the all-time classic that was #ZepedaBaranchyk on ESPN+ 🤯⤵️ pic.twitter.com/yH1JI0g6ih
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 4, 2020
One of the best fights I’ve seen since Foreman-Lyle. Plain and simple. #ZepedaBaranchyk
— Bob Arum (@BobArum) October 4, 2020
My Dad was ringside for Hagler-Hearns and he just said this was better. After the first round, it was all Hagler. Zepeda-Baranchyk had more sustained action. Wow.
— Dan Canobbio (@DanCanobbio) October 4, 2020
well, I wrote on twitter that #ZepedaBaranchyk was going to be a really good fight, but I did not know it was going be THIS good. Amazing stuff. Hats off to both men.
— Al Bernstein (@AlBernstein) October 4, 2020
Now that we all watched a great fight last night now how many people woke up thinking about Baranchyk well being? See what us fights go through just to entertain people that don’t care about us. It’s no joke in the ring , you can’t play boxing like other sports.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) October 4, 2020
BROOOOOOO WHAAAAAT
— Vergil Ortiz Jr. (@VergilOrtiz) October 4, 2020
8 knockdowns in 5 rounds! No sport like boxing! 🥊🙏🏾
— Kal Yafai (@iam_yafai) October 4, 2020
WHAT A FIGHT!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 #ZepedaBaranchyk
— Andrew Moloney (@AndrewMoloney) October 4, 2020
What a sensational dramatic fight . Congratulations to the new @WBCBoxing silver super light weight champion and to such a warrior challenger #ZepedaBaranchyk @trboxing
— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) October 4, 2020
Dammmm that was a crazy fight. Never saw that coming. Might be the end of Ivan. That’s devastating
— Rougarou (@RPrograis) October 4, 2020
FOTY & KO OF THE YEAR! DAMNNNNNNNN
— Lamont Roach Jr (@OneOf1x) October 4, 2020
Whether @ringmagazine puts its up for Fight Of The Year or Knockout Of The Year, it’ll definitely be nominated by many for something! Overall glad to see Baranchyk walk out of there.
— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) October 4, 2020
Baranchyk knockdown 💥
Baranchyk knockdown 💥
Zepeda knockdown 💥
Baranchyk knockdown 💥
Zepeda knockdown 💥
Zepeda knockdown 💥
Baranchyk knockdown 💥
Zepeda knockout 😵Craziest fight of the year.#ZepedaBaranchyk was five rounds of mayhem 🔥 (via @trboxing, @ESPNRingside) pic.twitter.com/oruDEoKqbU
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) October 4, 2020
Scary one punch end to a sensational, back and forth, knockdown filled fight-of-the-year kind of brawl. Congratulations to Jose Zepeda. Hope Ivan Baranchyk is ok.
— Max Kellerman (@maxkellerman) October 4, 2020
We fighters love our sport,we are proud to be a boxer and most of us enter that ring willing to do whatever it takes to win.But there is a harsh reality. Boxing is terrible sometimes. Prompt recovery to Baranchyk hope that it is nothing serious.The fans before judging a fighter🤔
— Yordenis Ugas (@YordenisUgas) October 4, 2020
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