By: Sean Crose
Golden Boy Boxing returned to DAZN Saturday night as the streaming service broadcast a live card from Dallas, Texas featuring a lightweight battle between William Zepeda and Jaime Arboleda. First, though, was a scheduled eight round super middleweight throwdown between the 12-0 David Stevens and the veteran 26-6-1 Marco Antonio Periban.
Stevens was up after two rounds, and even appeared to hurt his man in the third, but Periban surprised his man via a flash knockdown in the third. Stevens quickly got to his feet, however, and was able to toss off the harder punches throughout the fight. Unsurprisingly, the man remained undefeated after the final bell rang, courtesy of a unanimous decision win from the judges.
Next up was a scheduled super welterweight ten rounder between the 16-1-1 Esteban Villalobos and the 29-3 Fredrick Lawson. Villalobos started off aggressively, keeping Lawson on the back foot. Indeed, the fight had flashes of excitement throughout its first half, flashes which saw both men land well.
And sure enough, the fight remained intriguing until the end. Villalobos stalked and Lawson fired hard punches from a defensive position. The final round, in fact, was a slugfest, with each man firing hard at the other. Sure enough, Lawson was clearly hurt in the final minute of the fight. What’s more, Villalobos almost finished him before the final bell. It was a terrific fight, frankly, one which the judges awarded to Lawson.
The 24-1 Diego De La Hoya was up next, facing the the 17-0-1 Victor Morales in a featherweight throwdown scheduled for ten. The first round wasn’t boring, but wasn’t particularly eventful either. Things were different in the second, as Morales charged forward like a pit bull and put De La Hoya to the mat with a terrific left. His face covered in blood, De La Hoya was somehow able to beat the count. He immediately took to fighting gamely, but went down again – and this time was unable to get back to his feet in time. It was a huge win for Morales, to say the least.
It was time for the main event. The 19-2 Jaime Arboleda was taking on the 27-0 favorite William Zepeda in a scheduled twelve round lightweight affair. The first round was exciting, fast paced and close, though perhaps Zepeda edged it. Impressive combos and body work put Arboleda down in the second. Arboleda got to his feet but was clearly in trouble. Indeed, he was put down to the mat for the second time moments later. Once again, Arboleda was able to get to his feet – but Zepeda’s body attack put him down and out for the night after a few more seconds.
