An extra week’s worth of preparation was well reflected on the frame of William Zepeda.
The red-hot lightweight contender from San Mateo Atenco, Mexico hit the scales at a chiseled 134.2 pounds for his second consecutive DAZN main event. Zepeda collides with Jaime Arboleda, a Panamanian lightweight based out of Miami who checked in at a cut-up and ready 134.6 pounds.
Their scheduled 12-round regional title fight headlines a four-fight DAZN show from College Park Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington.
Zepeda (27-0, 23KOs) and Arboleda (19-2, 14KOs) were previously due to collide on the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia undercard one week ago at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Their bout was pulled from that event once the need arose for a new worthy headliner for this weekend’s card. The show’s original main event fell through once Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19KOs) once again suffered from rhabdomyolysis which forced him to postpone a mandatory challenge of WBA ‘Regular’ welterweight titlist Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 10KOs).
Zepeda was last seen in a dominant twelve-round, unanimous decision victory over former IBF junior lightweight titlist Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz last October 30 in San Diego.
Arboleda has won three straight—all in his native Panama—since a December 2020 eleventh-round knockout defeat to then-unbeaten interim WBA junior lightweight titlist Chris Colbert.
DAZN main undercard, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. local
Diego De La Hoya (24-1, 11KOs), Mexicali, Mexico, 126 pounds vs. Victor Morales (17-0-1, 8KOs), Vancouver, Washington, 125.4 pounds—10 rounds, featherweight
Fredrick Lawson (29-3, 22KOs), Chicago via Accra, Ghana, 149 pounds vs. Estevan Villalobos (16-1-1, 12KOs), Mount Vernon, Washington, 152 pounds—10 rounds, junior middleweight
David Stevens (12-0, 9KOs), Reading, Pennsylvania, 168 pounds vs. Marco Antonio Periban (26-6-1, 17KOs), Mexico City, 167.2 pounds—6 rounds, super middleweight
Non-televised undercard, 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. local
Darius Fulghum (3-0, 3KOs), Houston, Texas, 174.2 pounds vs. Jay Williams (4-10, 0KOs), West Monroe, Louisiana, weight TBD (not present for weigh-in)—4 rounds, light heavyweight
Tristan Kalkreuth (9-1, 7KOs), Duncanville, Texas, 201.6 pounds vs. Jonathan Rice (2-2, 2KOs), Cleburne, Texas, 224.6 pounds—6 rounds, heavyweight
Caleb Suniga (pro debut), Austin, Texas, 129.4 pounds vs. Carlos Arroyo (5-22-1, 4KOs), Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, 130.2 pounds—4 rounds, junior lightweight
Roberto Cruz (8-0, 4KOs), Killeen, Texas, 157.8 pounds vs. Tyrone Selders (9-15-2, 6KOs), Webster, Texas, 157.2 pounds—6 rounds, middleweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox