Via Huck Allen: Jose ‘Chon’ Zepeda vows to get up and continue to fight Regis Prograis if eliminated this Saturday, November 26, in the battle for the vacant WBC lightweight belt at Dignity Health Sports Park, in Carson, California.
As the saying goes, ‘three times is a charm’, Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs) will compete for the world title for a third time when he faces former 140 lb WBA champion Prograis (27-1, 23 KO) in their title on FIT at 9 p.m. ET.
Zepeda feels he should have remained undefeated as he was injured in his first title fight with Terry Flanagan in 2015 and on his second attempt he lost to Jose Ramirez in a controversial 12th round at home. his home in Fresno, California, in 2019.
If Zepeda beats Prograis in the hard south, he will likely target former undisputed champion Josh Taylor. That’s the man to beat right now.
“People are having a lot of high stress right now. Regis Prograis said to fight about his fight with Jose Zepeda on Saturday.
“It’s always the corner, the bravest corner,” Zepeda told Fighthype of the animosity between the teams on Tuesday. “It doesn’t matter because it will only be Regis and I there, and it will be a fierce battle.
“I don’t think I have to tell you if he’s brave or not. You know that. I don’t need to tell you that I’m brave. If anything happens, I will get up and go back to fighting, and he will do the same.
“If he is eliminated, he will come back. That’s why I always say ‘Fight of the Year’ and all boxing pros know it.
“That just motivates me,” Zepeda said of fighting for the world championship for the third time after losing the previous two. “If I can have three chances of winning the world title, that means I am doing the right thing.
“Nobody gets three chances without a reason. So that means I’m doing something right every time I improve and the two times I lose, in my book, inside the ring, I didn’t lose.
“In my first title fight, my first defeat [to Terry Flanagan in 2015], which is a dislocation of the shoulder. In the second one [against Jose Ramirez in 2019], many people thought I won. So I believe inside the ring; I didn’t lose a flight; I am undefeated,” Zepeda said.
