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Zepeda vs Hughes: Expert Predictions and Analysis

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Zepeda vs Hughes: Expert Predictions and Analysis

William Zepeda and Maxi Hughes will face off on Saturday night on DAZN from Las Vegas in a 12-round lightweight main event.

Zepeda (29-0, 25 KO) is the clear favorite in this fight, but veteran Hughes (26-6-2, 5 KO) has been on a sizzling streak over the past three years and appears to be in line after his victory over George Kambosos Jr in his last performance.

Can Hughes pull off another upset, or will it be William Zepeda’s turn?

Who will win Zepeda vs Hughes?

Scott Christ (6-1)

Zepeda is not a good fit for Hughes. I really don’t think I have much more to say, so luckily there are three other people who can say more and I can write this half-assed concise effort in this matter.

I just don’t see anything that Hughes can do with this guy if Zepeda is as good as I think he is. However, I think that Hughes has a knack for awkwardness; my vision of Criswell is a break that most people don’t think is necessary, even though he’s miles away from fighting and has no path to victory. Zepeda TKO-10

Will Esco (5-2)

It’s difficult to say anything other than that the chips were tilted in Hughes’ favor in that fight with William Zepeda. Regardless of how you watched the Hughes-George Kambosos fight, that fight certainly doesn’t give me any confidence in Hughes’ chances against the younger, stronger, and more confident Zepeda, who was just taking care of business.

Hughes has been broken and stopped before and I think this is a similar scenario where he drops out halfway through the fight. Zepeda TKO-6

John Hansen (6-1)

Outside of maybe Tank Davis, William Zepeda is the absolute worst 135-pound matchup for Maxie Hughes. That said, Hughes is a sharp, seasoned professional, and we’ve already seen JoJo Diaz handle a programmed Zepeda until the final bell. It can be done, and the same things that make Hughes very unlikely to find a path to victory also give him a good chance of going the distance.

Hughes can’t and won’t try to hang with Zepeda. That means we won’t see a fight as close as Zepeda vs. Alvarado, but it also means Hughes shouldn’t end the fight early like Mercito Gesta and Jaime Arboleda. With respect and apologies for what JoJo Diaz may have done in his early 70s Elvis cosplay, Hughes is probably the most tactically complete and cunning opponent Zepeda has ever faced. I don’t think Hughes can stop Zepeda, or even hurt him enough to snail-paced him down. I think Hughes can outlast him. Zepedas UD-12

Patrick Stumberg (6-1)

Hughes is a feel-good story no matter how you slice it. Left for dead after a string of tough domestic defeats, he simply scored nervously after nervously after nervously to fight his way onto the world stage. To be given this chance after that Kambosos squabble is a occasional case of justice and redress in a sport known for leaving the unfortunate to fend for themselves.

This just doesn’t bode well for him.

The problem with Kambosos is that he really isn’t very good at leading. His best skill, which plays so beautifully off of Teofimo Lopez’s worst habits, is his ability to punish overextension with strikes. Hughes’ footwork and timing were excellent at countering, but giving Zepeda that much slack was asking for trouble. “El Camaron” isn’t a raw slum like Jovanni Straffon; he has the skills to hunt down Hughes and do some sedate damage.

This screams “snowball” as Hughes outmaneuvers Zepeda early on, then Zepeda’s volume and body attack snail-paced his feet and force him to endure increasingly brutal combinations in the pocket. Zepeda’s score round after round reaches triple digits by the mid-distance and ultimately secures a finish at the end of the race. Zepeda TKO-10

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Analysis

Jaron “Boots” Ennis defeats David Avanesyan in five rounds

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Jaron “Boots” Ennis defeats David Avanesyan in five rounds

Jaron “Boots” Ennis (32-0, 29 KO) made most of the homecoming he was hoping for in today’s DAZN main event, defeating David Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KO) after five full rounds of fighting.

The fight started with Boots showing off his speed, power and fluidity, and he was so comfortable that he spent most of the fight right in the pocket, trading punches and combinations with Avanesyan and clearly outplaying the exchanges.

Boots’ deadly and steady attack began to take its toll on Avanesyan, and Boots landed a good counter left that knocked Avanesyan down in the fifth round. Avanesyan would get back up from this knockdown, but would have to take more keen punches, while viewers could see him wincing under some of the body blows he took.

Avanesyan made it to the bell in the fifth round, but at that point Avanesyan’s corner saw that he was hurting and had little left to offer, and decided to stop the fight between rounds.

In the post-fight interview, Ennis said he was not completely satisfied with his performance, believing he had a break in the ring which hampered his timing, but said he was cheerful he got the job done. It is suspected that Avanesyan suffered a broken jaw during the fight.

  • Jalil Hackett UD-10 by Peter Dobson

Jalil Hackett (9-0, 7 KO) won today by unanimous decision, but it didn’t come as easily as he might have expected. Hackett started brisk, but that was what veteran Peter Dobson (16-2, 9 KO) seemed prepared for as he tried to weather the early storm and hold his ground in the second half of the fight. Unfortunately for Dobson, Hackett didn’t disappear as quickly as he needed him to, which allowed Hackett to score points on the official cards even though Dobson competed in some of the later rounds.

  • Skye Nicolson UD-10 Dyana Vargas

Skye Nicolson (11-0, 1 KO) won today by unanimous decision, clearly ahead of Dyana Vargas (19-2, 12 KO), who has great difficulty matching Nicolson’s style. Nicolson was able to clearly dominate simply with her jab and the occasional straight left hand, both of which narrowly missed tonight. Vargas never gave up and continued to land as many punches as she could despite the terrible connection speed, but it ultimately resulted in defeat. Nicolson’s official scores on all three scorecards were 100-90.

  • Khalil Coe by TKO-2 vs. Kwame Ritter

Khalil Coe (9-0, 7 KO) quickly dispatched his opponent Kwame Ritter (11-2, 9 KO) in the first round of DAZN, landing a powerful shot that rocked badly and ultimately knocked Ritter down in the second round. Ritter would get back to his feet, but a few more demanding shots from Coe would send Ritter stumbling around the ring until the referee saw enough and called off the fight at 1:59 minutes.

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Analysis

Ennis vs Avanesyan: Live results, RBR, how to watch

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Ennis vs Avanesyan: Live results, RBR, how to watch

Results

  • Jaron “Boots” Ennis RTD-5 David Avanesyan (3:00) [highlights]
  • Jalil Hackett UD-10 Peter Dobson (97-93, 97-93, 96-94) [highlights]
  • Skye Nicolson UD-10 Dyana Vargas (100-90, 100-90, 100-90) [highlights]
  • Khalil Coe TKO-2 Kwame Ritter (1:59) [highlights]

Jaron “Boots” Ennis will make his Matchroom debut tonight in his home match in Philadelphia against David Avanesyan, with Ennis’ IBF welterweight title at stake.

Originally undefeated, Ennis was scheduled to face Cody Crowley, who was forced to withdraw after failing an eye test. Thanks to this, the veteran Avanesyan won the world title for the third time. Also on the card, Skye Nicolson will defend her WBC featherweight title against Dyana Vargas and will have two more fights!

The shows stream live on DAZN and Wil Esco has your stream, join him at 8pm EST!

Main card (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Jaron “Boots” Ennis (31-0, 28 KO) vs. David Avanesyan (30-4-1, 18 KO) welterweight, 12 rounds, for Ennis’ IBF title
  • Jalil Hackett (8-0, 7 KO) vs. Peter Dobson (16-1, 9 KO), welterweight, 10 rounds
  • Skye Nicolson (10-0, 1 KO) vs. Dyana Vargas (19-1, 12 KO), featherweight, 10 rounds, for Nicolson’s WBC title
  • Khalil Coe (8-0-1, 6 KO) vs. Kwame Ritter (11-1, 9 KO), airy heavyweight, 10 rounds

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Analysis

Jaron “Boots” Ennis is looking forward to performing in his hometown

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Jaron “Boots” Ennis is looking forward to performing in his hometown

Jaron “Boots” Ennis will face David Avanesyan next Saturday in front of fans from his hometown of Philadelphia, and while performing in front of family and friends often comes with pressure, Ennis says he actually feels more comfortable doing so.

Ennis about the opportunity to headline in his hometown of Philadelphia

“I’m definitely excited to get back in front of my friends and family and fight my first home fight at the Wells Fargo Center. So this is a huge opportunity. I can’t wait, I’m excited. I’m ready to rock n’ roll.”

Under the pressure of having to perform in front of his hometown fans

“No pressure. I feel more comfortable at home anyway, so it’ll be like me being at home and just kicking it up.”

Unless he thinks he can put in a spectacular performance against a delayed replacement opponent from Avanesyan

“Definitely, but I’m not going to go out there and look for it. I’m going to go in there, have fun and let the knockout come to me. I won’t look for it at all.”

About how he sees the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov fight

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve never even seen the other guy fight, so I probably think Crawford will win [chuckles]”

Unless he sees a move up to 154 to face Crawford within the next year

“Definitely, but my current goal is to be undisputed at 147, so I’ll try to get the rest of the belts and then go up to 154 and do the same.”

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