With originally scheduled headliner Joe Smith out with COVID, WBC #2 super lightweight Jose “Chon” Zepeda (34-2, 21 KOs) will face Josue “The Prodigy” Vargas (19-1, 9 KOs) in the ten round main event on October 30 in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. ESPN+ will stream the entire card.
Zepeda participated in the 2020 Fight of the Year, knocking out Ivan Baranchyk in the fifth round of a bout that featured eight total knockdowns. He returned in May on the Josh Taylor-Ramirez undercard and looked flat in outpointing “Hammerin” Hank Lundy.
The co-feature is a ten round bantamweight tilt between undefeated Puerto Rican knockout artist Carlos “Purin” Caraballo (14-0, 14 KOs) and former world title challenger Jonas Sultan (17-5, 11 KOs).
Undercard action includes former world champion Jonathan Guzman returning in an eight-round junior featherweight fight, welterweight Jahi Tucker (4-0, 2 KOs) in a six-rounder, Kasir “Mazzi” Goldston (3-0, 1 KO) competing in a six-round junior welterweight contest, Mathew Gonzalez (12-0, 8 KOs) making his MSG debut in a six-rounder at junior welterweight, former New York City amateur standout Ray Cuadrado (1-0, 1 KO) in a four-rounder at junior lightweight, and Paddy “Real Deal” Donovan (7-0, 5 KOs) making his American debut in a six-round welterweight assignment.
Might take Vargas in this one. Zepeda looked really bad his last time out against Lundy.