Baranchyk (20-2, 13 KOs), a former IBF Junior Welterweight World champion, scored a pair of knockdowns in the opening round and then the second traded knockdowns. Zepeda used his counterpunching skills to knock down Baranchyk in the third and fourth rounds, but Baranchyk roared back and planted Zepeda (33-2, 26 KOs) on the canvas early in the fifth.
Soon after Zepeda rose to this feet, the knockout hammer dropped.
Baranchyk was motionless on his left side after the knockdown for several minutes but was slowly regaining his senses before being immediately taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Zepeda said after the fight, “I feel great because I won the fight. It was a hard fight, and I’m thinking, ‘Man, boxing is hard. It’s no easy game.’ Boxing, it’s tough, and you have to give it 100 percent because it’s a hard sport.
“Both of us are climbing up, and somebody had to stay. I was able to win the fight, and I told him, ‘Thanks for the fight. It was a great fight.’
“I know I’m tough. I didn’t know how tough I was. Tonight, I showed myself, too. I’ve never been in a fight like this. It was a great learning experience.”
If you know someone who has ESPN+ or can find video of this main event on the internet, do so as this may have been the wildest fight I’ve seen easily this year and without a doubt, barring someone topping off what took place to close out the “Bubble” tonight, are playing for silver in 2020 if not Fight of the Decade conversations.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
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