Joseph Diaz Jr. vs William Zepeda Preview October 29th, 2022
Former IBF Junior Lightweight Champion Joseph Diaz Jr of Downey, California returns to the ring this Saturday, October 29th when he takes on unbeaten William Zepeda. The 12-round lightweight tilt between the two southpaws will be held in San Diego, California and can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Diaz dropped a unanimous decision to Devin Haney last December in his last outing in a shot at the WBC Lightweight Tilte. Zepeda last boxed in May when he beat Rene Alvarado by 10-round unanimous decision.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Diaz Jr. vs Zepeda Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Joseph Diaz Jr +130
- William Zepeda -160
My Pick
The 29-year-old Diaz Jr. lost his first world title shot when he dropped a unanimous decision to WBC Featherweight Champion Gary Russell Jr. in May, 2018. He then beat WBA Titleholder Jesus Rojas by unanimous decision three months later but came in overweight for the fight and wasn’t able to win the belt. It was third time lucky for him though when he beat Tevin Farmer for the IBF Super Featherweight Title via unanimous decision in 2020.
He then lost the belt when he failed to make weight against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in February, 2021 and ended up fighting to a 12-round draw with him. In his following fight he won the WBC interim belt with a unanimous decision over Javier Fortuna but lost it against Haney in his last outing. Diaz was a member of the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team at the 2012 Games in London, England where he went 1-1 as a bantamweight. He also reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Amateur Championships.
Diaz turned pro in December, 2012 and has fought 263 rounds since and climbs through the ropes with a mark of 32-2-1 with 15 Ko’s. He has average power in his fists with a with a current knockout ratio of 43 per cent. Diaz stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 64-inch inch. Since turning pro he’s also captured the NABF and WBO-NABO Featherweight Titles and the WBA Gold Super Featherweight Crown. He’s also fought Jesus Cuadro, Freddy Fonseca, Victor Terrazas, Rafael Rivera, Manuel Avila, Horacio Garcia, Jayson Velez, Hugo Partida, Rene Alvarado, Roberto Castaneda and Ruben Tamayo.
As for the 26-year-old Zepeda, he a fellow southpaw who enters the ring with a perfect mark of 26-0 with 23 big Ko’s. He’s obviously made a name for himself due to his impressive power as he carries around a knockout ratio of 88.5 per cent. He’s boxed 112 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 and has fought past six rounds just once, which was his last outing against Rene Alvarado. Zepeda has a three-inch edge in height on Diaz and also has a 5.5-inch edge in reach.
Zepeda’s going to be stepping up in class again this weekend as his biggest wins before beating Alvarado were against the likes of Jose Fierros, Jesus Zazueta, Jose Rosales and Roberto Ramirez. He also won the vacant WBA Contintental Americas Lightweight Title in July 2021 when he stopped Hector Tanajara after six rounds and defended it once by halting John Vincent Moralde in four rounds last November.
Prediction…
Diaz is a tough, aggressive customer who possesses good boxing skills but he’s giving up a lot of size to a power puncher here and will need to get inside without getting nailed while moving in. Zepeda has more or less relied on his power so far in his career but I think Diaz should be tough enough to handle it and use his skills to come out on top when all is said and done.
Diaz’s skills and chin should be the difference here.
Play: Diaz Jr +130 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Joseph Diaz Jr. betting • William Zepeda Segura betting