Top Rank's show on July 7th will be headlined by a ten-round junior welterweight bout between Jose “Chon” Zepeda and Kendo Castaneda. The shows will air live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Castaneda, from San Antonio, stepped in after Zepeda’s original opponent, Ivan Baranchyk, suffered an injury in training. In the co-feature, Andy Vences (23-1-1, 12 KOs) faces Luis Alberto Lopez (20-2, 11 KOs) over ten rounds at 130 pounds.
Zepeda is a little more than a year removed from challenging junior welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez in Ramirez’s backyard of Fresno, California. He fell short via majority decision. Zepeda shined on the Tyson Fury-Otto Wallin undercard last September at T-Mobile Arena, outboxing former two-weight title holder Jose Pedraza over ten rounds. “I’m ready to fight on July 7, whether it’s Ivan Baranchyk, or any of the other fighters in the 140-pound division,” Zepeda said. “I’ve trained for July 7 since early May, so no matter who’s in the opposite corner, I’ll be ready. I’m a professional. I’m coming to MGM Grand ready to prove, once again, why I’m one of the elite junior welterweights.”
Castaneda hopes to rebound from his first career loss, a majority decision to fellow unbeaten Yomar Alamo in February. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said, “Jose Zepeda is one of the world’s elite 140-pounders, and I credit Kendo for taking on this challenge."
Vences makes his 2020 debut with intentions to carry over the momentum from his final outing of 2019, a unanimous decision over Mark Bernaldez. The San Jose native recently called out WBO champion Jamel Herring, and he hopes a win over Lopez will push him closer to a world title shot.
Lopez, from Mexicali, Mexico, has won three straight since a decision loss to unbeaten contender Ruben Villa.
“I’m very excited to return to the ring against the tough, rugged Luis Alberto Lopez,” Vences said. “I want to fight the best and prove to the boxing world that I am one of the best in the junior lightweight division. I'm grateful to have Top Rank and my manager, Peter Kahn, behind me 100 percent. My hard work, discipline, consistency, and sacrifices will pay off."
Undercard
In an eight-round lightweight bout, the Las Vegas-born Andres “Savage” Cortes (12-0, 7 KOs) will return from a yearlong layoff to face Alejandro Salinas (10-3, 9 KOs). Cortes, who holds a pair of amateur wins over current lightweight world Teofimo Lopez, is 9-0 with 5 KOs when fighting in Las Vegas...
Genaro “El Conde” Gamez (9-1, 6 KOs) will look to bounce back from his first career defeat in an eight-round junior welterweight fight against Reymond Yanong (11-5-1, 9 KOs). Gamez, from San Diego, hasn’t fought since a decision loss last August to fellow unbeaten Luis Feliciano. Yanong bested Clay Burns by split decision June 25th live on ESPN...
In a four-round lightweight bout, the undefeated Eric Puente (2-0) will take on Diego Elizondo (2-1-2), who is coming off his first career defeat last October on the Shakur Stevenson-Joet Gonzalez undercard...
Gabriel Muratalla (3-0, 3 KOs), the fighting preschool teacher who scored a first-round knockout in “The Bubble” on June 11, returns on short notice to fight Sergio Lopez (4-5-3, 0 KOs) in a four-rounder at bantamweight. The Robert Garcia-trained Muratalla knocked out Fernando Robles in 2:33 live on ESPN, earning him another televised slot.
