Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor, each of whom holds two of the four major 140-pound titles, are expected to fight soon to establish supremacy in that division.
The way Jose Zepeda sees it, though, he’s as good as any junior welterweight – including Ramirez and Taylor.
And why wouldn’t he feel that way?
Zepeda, who fights Ivan Baranchyk Saturday inside the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas, gave Ramirez all he could handle when they fought in February of last year. The Los Angeles-area fighter outboxed Ramirez much of the fight, although the titleholder rallied in the later rounds.
Ramirez ended up winning a majority decision – 114-114, 116-112 and 115-113 – but Zepeda was among those who wasn’t convinced.
Even Ramirez, when interviewed immediately after the fight, acknowledged that he had been pushed to the limit.
“He was very tough, very crafty,” Ramirez said. “It took me a while to close the distance. It was a very close fight.”
The setback didn’t change the way Zepeda looks at himself. He now looks back on that fight and his unanimous-decision victory over Jose Pedraza last September as learning experiences that only made him better.
“I feel like I’m the number one at 140,” he said. “I did think the Ramirez fight was pretty close, and a lot of people saw me winning. I think he is one of the best in the Top 5. Both of us right here, together with Ramirez and Josh Taylor, are in the Top 5.
“It’s very exciting. We are all good at certain things, and that makes for a very exciting division.”
Of course, Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs) feels he belongs among the best too.
The Oklahoma-based Russian won a vacant 140-pound title when he stopped Anthony Yigit after seven rounds in October 2018 but lost it to Taylor in his first defense, going down twice and losing a clear decision.
However, he was competitive with the talented Scot when he was on his feet. He’s hungry to to get another shot at a belt.
“In my training camp, I’ve been going harder and harder and harder,” he said. “I feel great. I’m ready to fight all rounds. I can go 10, 12 or 20 rounds. I’m very hungry. You will see a good fight Saturday night.
“… This is the best division. This fight is very important for me because it will be my next step towards a world title opportunity. If we win this fight, maybe I can get the chance to challenge Ramirez.”
Zepeda and Baranchyk have waited a long time for this fight, which was scheduled for July 7 but postponed because of the coronavirus. For one of them, it will have been worth the wait.
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