In a thrilling shootout and WBC super lightweight eliminator, two-time world title challenger Jose “Chon” Zepeda (33-2, 25 KOs) won a knockdown-filled war for the ages against former IBF junior welterweight world champion Ivan Baranchyk (20-2, 13 KOs) on Saturday night without fans in attendance inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas “Bubble.”
Amazingly, knockdowns occurred in all five rounds.
In round one, Baranchyk dropped Zepeda twice. In round two, Zepeda dropped Baranchyk, then Baranchyk floored Zepeda moments later. In round three, Zepeda dropped Baranchyk again. In round four, Zepeda dropped Baranchyk once again. In the fifth round, Baranchyk floored Zepeda, but then Zepeda spectacularly knocked Baranchyk out cold seconds later.
Time was 2:50.
Both fighters were down four times each.
The knockout was particularly brutal as Baranchyk’s leg jackknifed underneath him, arching his back and causing the back of his head to slam against the canvas. He remained down for a long time. Happily, he left the ring under his own power.
Fight of the Year for sure.
Zepeda also won the WBC silver title.
This was a special fight tonight.
FIGHT… OF… THE… YEAR!!!!
What a friggin’ war! One of the greatest fights ever!!! These guys will never be the same.
Sorry, this fight was WAY BETTER than just “fight of the year”, so we need to categorize it differently. One of the most exciting fights I have ever seen, and with such a brutal ending, an all time classic in my books.
Baranchyk went in too aggressive and stupidly thought he can take Zepedas punch. He was obviously trying to impress someone and failed miserably,
His trainer should be fired for giving him incredibly stupid instructions.
Wow! That was the most amazing fight I have seen in a long, long time. Baranchyk was as strong as a bull and his left hook was quick in the first couple of rounds. Zepeda looked frail next to him, but his chin stood up to the initial onslaught and he finally started fighting back in the second round after being blitzed in the first.
I can only compare this fight to the George Foreman-Ron Lyle fight where the fighters traded knockdowns before Big George prevailed.
Zepeda was obviously the better boxer and tried to box Baranchyk, but Ivan was having none of it and kept winging those dangerous left hooks, some of them landing solidly. Zepeda finally decided to fight fire with fire and began putting steam on his punches. I didn’t think he could hurt Baranchyk, but I was wrong.
Baranchyk was really hurt in the 2nd round but Zepeda got careless in his attack to finish him off and got clipped solidly for a knockdown. I believe the final knockdown and knockout came as an accumulation of the punishment that Baranchyk absorbed earlier in the fight. He was still dangerous, but some of the body shots that Zepeda mixed in with his head shots took their toll and sapped Ivan’s strength.
Zepeda was the sharper puncher and occasionally was able to step to the side and get his own hooks in. He should have done more of that because Baranchyk was slow to respond to Zepeda’s movement to the side. Zepeda usually got in trouble when he backed up straight to the ropes and became a sitting duck for power punches.
It really wasn’t an easy fight to watch because the boxers took turns hurting each other. This was not the type of fight where you kept score. You just waited to see who was still standing at the end.
From what I could see, Baranchyk was more adversely affected than Zepeda as the fight wore on although he was still dangerous. Zepeda looked worn down but was not seriously hurt despite the knockdowns.
There is no doubt in my mind that this is the fight of the year. To those who missed it, watch it from the beginning. It was a tremendous fight between two fighters neither of whom wanted to lose.
It was a dramatic ending, because Zepeda was fighting with more technic, more skills and landed a precise punch, while Baranchyk agression was kind of confusing, messing.
Good action fight, but not really a fight of year IMO, much less an instant classic.
Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado I or Gatti vs. Ward I for instance, yes, they were,but not this one.
What would be your current fight of the year for 2020?
First round, I thought, “this is going to be short night.” The only other fight I’ve seen that was comparable to this was George Foreman vs Ron Lyle back in the 70’s! GREAT FIGHT!
What a fight! 2 guys with big hearts.
Zepeda’s composure ultimately won it for him, Baranchyk was wild and dangerous.. and too open.
Knock out was kind of scary, hope Baranchyk recovers fully, physically and psychologically.
Hermosillo won the scrap against the FILIPINO he got robbed
Perhaps you only counted the number of punches which were mostly duds, whereas the punches landed by Magsayo came with a sting and another thing the referee ruled a clear knockdown as a slip although it came after a clear punch.
I’ve just seen the first round when I understood Ivan Baranchyks condition is not stable after absorbing many hard blows to body and head. I couldn’t continue to watch with that knowledge. I will instantly watch this fight if Ivan Barnchyk fully recovers, if not, this is just a sad story to me, I cannot manage. So first a speedy and fully recovery, then the boxing-talk. My thoughts are not in the ring right now.
Zepeda is a little giant, and it’s my opinion and safe to say, that he indeed will be the one in this weight division to capture all the belts in classic fashion! Heart, desire and faith in himself, no doubt killer and savage attitude (A plus) which gets him off the floor to put his man back down for good! A quality that will get him very far in this game of the sweet science… Many blessings Zepeda and God bless to a true warrior! The Guru…
,you couldn’t say it more eloquently greedy bastards