Zepeda Vs. Baranchyk: Fireworks

Mikey Williams/Top Rank

One year ago on October 5th 2019, Gennady Golovkin defeated Sergei Derevyanchenko in a great fight that was followed by a series of tremendous fights (Josh Taylor vs Prograis, Inoue vs Donaire, Gvozdyk vs Beterbiev).

I wrote my first two articles for the Fight Site during that time, before and after the Golovkin fight. The last trimester of 2019 was really something historical, and after a difficult and frustrating 2020, it seems like boxing is back in October once again! Top pound-for-pound boxers are going to fight in the upcoming weeks (Lomachenko, Estrada, Usyk, Inoue) and we can dream that once again the last trimester of the year will end up being fantastic.

To celebrate the return of boxing, we needed fireworks, and we got just that on Saturday night when Ivan Baranchyk and Jose Zepeda delivered a spectacular, violent fight. The fight was scheduled for ten rounds and the winner would become the WBC #1 contender at 140 lbs.

Jose Zepeda (32-2, 26 KO) has shown great boxing skills in the past, able to use good timing and footwork. However, his durability has often been questioned. His losses against Terry Flanagan and Jose Carlos Ramirez were behind him and after his victories over Jose Pedraza and Kendo Castaneda, he was once again in the race to challenge for the WBC belt if he was to defeat Ivan Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KO).

Baranchyk hasn’t faced many quality boxers but he fought 12 rounds with the number one fighter in the division, Josh Taylor. Although he lost by unanimous decision against Taylor, Baranchyk had started well, and even cut the champion around his left eye. After that, Taylor regained control of the fight but Baranchyk remained dangerous until the end. Ivan bounced back and won his last fight when he knocked out Gabriel Bracero (first loss by KO).

Baranchyk’s fast start and high volume vs Zepeda’s clean boxing skills and sharp combos looked to be a fun matchup on paper. But we had no idea this fight would become so violent, so quick.

Baranchyk’s Fast Start

Unsurprisingly, Baranchyk put a lot of pressure on Zepeda from the opening bell, throwing two lead left hooks, the second hitting Zepeda clean. Baranchyk fought like he had one round to score a knockout. One thing surprising about Zepeda was that he was circling to his left (which is very unlike a southpaw against an orthodox opponent).

Not even 20 seconds in the fight, Ivan had already shifted on Zepeda. Ivan’s pressure was very raw and wild. His shifting here wasn’t reliant on technique and ring IQ, but rather pure strength and speed. Although shifting is a great idea to close distance and land a variety of heavy shots, there is often a risk of getting countered in the process. That’s why all-time great boxers like Roberto Duran and Gennady Golovkin were so good at disguising their shifting. GGG would use his jab mid-step to distract his opponent from him switching stance. But let’s be clear here, Zepeda and Baranchyk are talented boxers, but they are nowhere near the elite level of boxing. What made their fight special was the heart and will of both warriors.

As you can see, Ivan definitely started very fast, hoping to overwhelm Zepeda.

Zepeda then stopped walking towards his left and moved to his right, throwing a few one-two’s. His jab kept Baranchyk at distance for a minute, until Zepeda used his jab to step in with the rear hand. However, early on Zepeda’s accuracy was nowhere to be found. Baranchyk was ready and willing to counter any cross with leaping hooks and that’s how he knocked down the American. Zepeda wasn't hurt by Ivan's right hand, but as he tried to pass under the counter right hand he got caught on the top of the head which compromised his balance. He wasn’t damaged, but the bad shot selection cost him very early. That obviously increased Baranchyk's confidence.

Encouraged by the first knockdown, Baranchyk began to vary his punches (jab to the body) and feint more and more. Bending the knees during these feints also allowed Baranchyk to position himself ideally for the leaping hooks.

At the end of the round, Baranchyk hit Zepeda with a powerful right and a dazzling left hook, which once again hit the back of the American's head. It seemed a lot more like a push than a knockdown, but Kenny Bayless ruled otherwise. Round one was over. Zepeda, although he was clumsy with his back hand and paid for it, did not suffer any damage during this round. 10-7 Baranchyk.

Zepeda’s Return

Round two is Zepeda's round. He found some solutions to Baranchyk's aggressiveness. First, Zepeda took on the role of the matador and used his lead right hook to counter the Belarusian's attacks. At times, Baranchyk's over-engagement put him in very vulnerable positions, as you can see below. For some reason this wasn’t ruled a knockdown.

Zepeda used his right hand to set up the left hand. He brilliantly used the lead right hook so that Baranchyk walked right into the left hand. That's how he punished Baranchyk and sent him to the canvas. Let's break it down.

Once again, Baranchyk swings an overhand right to shift to southpaw, but it is very badly executed. Ivan did put his left foot on the outside properly, but he moved his right foot too far forward, which came up against Jose's leg. Jose did the right thing, taking a small step back to avoid the backhand and throwing a left uppercut to counter Baranchyk (who will arrive at the body). Zepeda realised that Ivan was too advanced and caught him with the lead hook. At the same time he moved his right foot to simultaneously free up space and transfer his weight to set up the final left hand, which caught Ivan clean.

At this point, the fight was clearly in Zepeda's favor as he had figured out how to counter Baranchyk effectively. But, and this is the reason why the fight is so crazy, Ivan proceeded to take over.

After recovering from the knockdown, Ivan took a nice combo from Zepeda which visibly hurt him. Ivan was therefore on the backfoot and Zepeda advanced to finish it. However, in the pocket it was Zepeda who became complacent, and the American found himself on the floor after walking right into a right hook. It was Ivan who took the dominant angle. Two knockdowns in 20 seconds. Insane.

Jose was not discouraged and won the rest of the round by fighting in the center of the ring, outboxing the Belarusian. Zepeda’s superior footwork and punching mechanics allowed him to keep Ivan at distance and eating punches through his guard.

Back And Forth

Ivan Baranchyk's gameplan was now in trouble as he was losing the exchanges in the center of the ring and his attacks were now often being countered or avoided by Zepeda. Ivan ate that counter left hand several times as he stepped into range, but bit down on his mouthpiece and continued to advance. This man is reckless and relentless.

In the third round, he once again received a nice right hook-left straight combo which hurt him, but he still attempter to counter the American with all his power. This brought him to the canvas once again. The difference in the quality of the footwork between the two boxers was obvious. At times, Zepeda circled around the Belarusian beast with disconcerting ease.

To an extent, Ivan reminded me of Micky Ward, in the sense that even though his strategy no longer worked and his tactics were neutralised 90% of the time, he persisted and remained intent on his game plan. “At some point it will pay off”, Ivan said to himself, probably.

Power vs. Finesse

The fourth round of the fight was very interesting because Zepeda displayed the opposite of Baranchyk's stubbornness. He managed to adjust to Baranchyk's movements very quickly but his lack of concentration cost him some unnecessary damage. It was also in this round that the two warriors began striking the body, each in their own way. Zepeda found openings in Ivan's defense while the latter just hammered hard blows into the American's midsection.

This round was really hard to split until the final twenty seconds, when Zepeda threw a left hook into Ivan's jaw, heavily sending him to the ground. Zepeda's precision and finesse outweighed Baranchyk's aggressiveness and power.

Once again, Ivan got countered as he closed distance with a leaping left hook. All fight long, Jose Zepeda was countering Ivan before evading the danger. Here he kept hurting Ivan until he sent him to the ground to close the round.

The Knockout

The fight had leaned towards Zepeda very clearly. Baranchyk continued his efforts but was countered several times. Jose forcing himself to counter in combos and not just using the left hand. Baranchyk uses his jab more to prepare his attacks and it pays off with a few rallies in which Ivan takes the upper hand. He sent Zepeda to the ropes. Finally, he had success shifting, and landed a huge right hand on Zepeda’s jaw. This one caused him to lose balance and he only stayed up thanks to the ropes. Kenny Bayless gave him a standing eight count.

We’ve mentioned it several times, the importance of the jab in those blitz. Power move by Baranchyk.

Zepeda didn't flinch, caught his breath and walked towards Ivan who was hoping to end the round even stronger. Building on his recent success with his Jab, Baranchyk threw a jab but Zepedo slipped it, stepped in and took the outside angle as he threw the right hook and then landed a perfect left hook right on the chin of Ivan Baranchyk that struck him to the floor out cold. Scary finish. Zepeda had been using this all fight long too, the right hook to set up the head of his opponent clashing violently with his strong left hook.

In a way, this knockout pretty much represents the adjustment of Zepeda, who stopped sticking and moving, and decided instead to hold his feet more while moving forward.

Our very own @CraftyBoxing:

Fantastic victory for Jose Zepeda who admitted after the victory that he often doubted himself and that on this night he never stopped believing in himself. Baranchyk also displayed belief until the end. A thought for him after suffering a terrible knockout. This incredible and entertaining fight finally seemed quite dispensable when Baranchyk remained on the ground for what seemed like an eternity. The excitement arising from this 15-minute war between two valiant challengers had given way to concern and the momentary questioning of the sport. Ivan regained consciousness, and we all got to enjoy this barbaric spectacle for what it was: a war.

Ivan Baranchyk was released from the hospital a day later and everything seemed to be fine in view of the events. Terence Crawford expressed his concern about Baranchyk and reminded fans of the exceptional sacrifices and risks these athletes take for our entertainment. This makes Zepeda and Baranchyk's performance even more valiant.

In any case, even if boxing resumed several weeks ago and gave us quality fights, Baranchyk vs. Zepeda was really a fight apart, a firework display to celebrate the return of boxing in our lives. As a reminder, Vasily Lomachenko will face Teofimo Lopez on Saturday October 17th. Do not miss this evening and keep your eyes glued to The Fight Site as we will be bringing you content pertaining to this excellent matchup.