World Boxing Council super lightweight champion of the world Jose Ramirez (24-0, 16 KOs) was once again fighting in front of a hometown crowd of 14,034 at the Save Mart Center and nationwide audience, facing the toughest test of his career in Jose “Chon” Zepeda on Sunday.
From the opening round, it was evident that Zepeda (31-1, 25 KOs) was not going to make it an easy night for Ramirez, as he was able to go blow-for-blow with the champion, making Ramirez unable to get into rhythm more than any fighter has done before.
Zepeda worked to get Ramirez out of his comfort zone, fighting very intelligently, frustrating Ramirez by any means, using head-butts and the clinch in order to stop Ramirez’s rhythm and at one point pressing his glove on the forehead of Ramirez to keep him at a distance.