By Mauricio Sulaimán – Son of José Sulaimán – President of the WBC
A new world champion shook the boxing world on Saturday with a display of courage, valor, and determination. William “El Camarón” Zepeda captured the WBC Lightweight World Championship at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, in a thrilling battle against the experienced former world champion Lamont Roach, who, by the way, was the favorite among experts. Roach was coming off two top-level fights, drawing with one of the best in the world, Gervonta Davis, and also drawing against the great WBC Interim Super Lightweight Champion, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
“El Camarón” came out like a whirlwind from the very first round, fighting at a pace that seemed impossible to sustain throughout the entire bout. However, to the delight of a sold-out arena, he delivered a masterclass in discipline and overwhelmed the American, earning a unanimous decision victory.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission agreed to use a rule for the first time that has yielded great results in many countries around the world: the “Open Scoring” rule. This means that at the end of the fourth and eighth rounds, the official judges’ scores are announced. That way, the fighters and their corners know exactly how the judges are scoring and do not have to wait until the end of the fight to see if their performance was enough to earn the scores in their favor. At the end of the fourth round, the fight was scored 38-38 on one judge’s card and 39-37 in favor of Zepeda on the other two. By the end of the eighth round, it was 77-75 on two cards and 78-74, all in favor of the Mexican. Both the fans inside the arena and viewers at home passionately enjoyed the final four rounds, knowing that the fight remained close and competitive.
“El Camarón” kept up relentless pressure and neutralized Roach’s attacks, closing the fight in spectacular fashion to ultimately secure a unanimous decision: 117-111 on two cards and 118-110 on the third.
Mexico has a new world champion, and an elite one at that. The famous trainer “Panda” has managed to crown his first absolute WBC champion, and his tears inside the ring led to a series of deeply intimate moments with his team and his new great champion.
Once again, the World Boxing Council proved to have made the right call. Previously, Jaider Herrera had won the interim championship, and when the title became vacant following Shakur Stevenson’s resignation, the WBC decided to order the Zepeda vs. Roach fight for the absolute title instead of automatically elevating Herrera. The next fight will be Zepeda against interim champion Jaider Herrera, from Cuba, based in Dubai, and promoted by Queensberry.
Seeing all the promoters work together for the good of boxing was immensely satisfying. The lead promoter was Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, in co-promotion with TGB, Top Rank, and ProBox. Television networks also did their part by joining forces, using the DAZN platform as the base broadcast, along with free-to-air television in the US on TNT, and ESPN KnockOut for Latin America.
August will continue with great global boxing action. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Las Vegas at the Orleans Hotel under the leadership of Michelle Corrales, widow of the great champion Diego Corrales, in what promises to be a highly attractive event.
Also in California, Guatemalan idol Lester Martínez will defend his title against the tough Luka Plantic from Croatia. Lester is his country’s first champion and has become a massive idol. His promoter, Garry Jonas of ProBox, will run a wonderful experiment coordinated by the WBC, featuring judges scoring the fight from a studio to follow the trend of leveraging technology to improve the sport without replacing the human factor.
Additionally, in August, a grand tribute will be paid to Salvador Sánchez around the anniversary of his passing. The events will feature a ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies, followed by the traditional celebration in Santiago Tianguistenco, which includes a mass, a procession to the cemetery to visit Sal Sánchez’s grave, a boxing card, and a grand local traditional meal for all attendees.
Did you know?…
Salvador Sánchez is remembered as one of the greatest legends in Mexican boxing history. As WBC World Feathewight Champion, he dominated the division with flawless technique, supreme intelligence, and inexhaustible stamina.
At the peak of his career, he defeated era-defining rivals: he immortalized his name after knocking out the legendary Puerto Rican Wilfredo Gómez, defeated the tough Puerto Rican Juan Laporte in a true 15-round war, contained the ferocity of Azumah Nelson before stopping him in the final round, and beat Danny “Little Red” López twice.
His life and brilliant career were tragically cut short on August 12, 1982, when he died in a car accident at just 23 years old. Despite his early departure, his impact remains indelible, and his legacy endures forever in the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest champions in history.
Today’s Anecdote
That August 12, 1982, was a heartbreaking day for Mexico. Every news outlet was reporting the tragic death of champion Salvador Sánchez after his Porsche crashed. That news hit my father deeply, as one of his greatest champions had lost his life. Immediately, as he always did, he got in touch with Salvador’s family to offer support in every way possible.
It was a massive funeral: champions—including Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Gómez—family, friends, and everyday people traveled to Santiago Tianguistenco to say their final goodbyes to a champion who was only 23 years old.
I welcome your comments at contact@wbcboxing.com
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