One of the most avoided 140 lbs fighters, Jose “Chon” Zepeda (32-2, 25 KOs) outboxed Kendo “Tremendo” Castaneda (17-2, 8 KOs), using his dynamic skill to rally up a unanimous decision victory (98-92 2x and 97-93) at the MGM Grand Conference Center — Grand Ballroom.

Zepeda, from La Puente, California, is 2-0 with a no-contest since his controversial majority decision loss to world champion Jose Ramirez. He is currently ranked in the top 5 by the WBC and WBO.

The only major takeaway outside of Zepeda’s skills, was to that Zepeda, is focused on winning, but not always in need of putting on a show or making a statement to the fans. The bout which served as a masterclass, also failed to make the statement for a rematch with Jose Ramirez or a bout with Josh Taylor.

“He was a late replacement, but he was tough in there. I didn’t take Kendo lightly because I knew what he was capable of. He had only one loss by decision coming into tonight,” Zepeda said. “Anybody with a belt at 140 pounds is who I want to fight. A championship fight is my goal, and that is what I am working towards.”

Lopez Upsets Vences

Luis Alberto Lopez (21-2, 11 KOs) authored the most significant win of his carer, edging longtime junior lightweight contender Andy Vences (23-2-1, 12 KOs) via 10-round split decision. A Lopez uppercut early in the sixth round stunned Vences, but he was able to weather the onslaught and survive the stanza.

Vences appeared to rally in the bout’s latter stages, but it was too little, too late.

“I felt I won the fight with my pressure. It was a close fight, but I was confident I did enough after the final bell sounded,” Lopez said. “Credit to Vences. I thought he was knocked out earlier in the fight, but he came back like a warrior.”

Said Vences, “I thought I won a close fight, but I am not going to complain about the decision. It was a good, close fight. No excuses. I prepared well for 10 hard rounds.”

—Lightweight prospect Andres Cortes (13-0, 7 KOs) survived a fourth-round knockdown to top Alejandro Salinas (10-4, 9 KOs) by eight-round unanimous decision. The scores were as follows: 79-73, 77-74 and 76-75. Cortes swept the last three round on all of the judges’ cards.

— Gabriel Muratalla (4-0, 3 KOs), the fighting preschool teacher from Fontana, California, bested Las Vegas native Sergio Lopez (4-6-3, 0 KOs) by unanimous decision (40-36 2x and 39-37) in a four-round bantamweight bout. Muratalla was making his second “Bubble” outing following his first-round stoppage over Fernando Robles on June 11.

— Genaro Gamez (10-1, 7 KOs) rebounded from his first career defeat with a first-round knockout over Reymond Yanong (11-6-1, 9 KOs) in a welterweight contest.

— Lightweight prospect Eric Puente (3-0) edged Diego Elizondo (2-2-2) via majority decision by scores of 38-38 and 39-37 2x.