JOSE ZEPEDA climbed off the canvas four times before stopping Ivan Baranchyk in a thriller which saw EIGHT knockdowns in five rounds.
Zepeda was felled twice in the opening round by cuffing blows.
Allow us to present: 48 Seconds of Insanity
All 8 knockdowns from the 4+ rounds of the all-time classic that was #ZepedaBaranchyk on ESPN+
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— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 4, 2020
The he and his Belarusian opponent traded knockdowns in the second at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The frenzied nature of the contest continued as Zepeda dropped Baranchyk in each of the third and fourth rounds.
And despite being put down in the fifth, the American ended proceedings in the same round with a savage straight left.
Zepeda, who suffered a dislocated shoulder in a 2015 loss to Manchester’s Terry Flanagan for the WBO lightweight title, claimed the WBC silver lightweight belt.
He said: “I feel great because I won the fight.
“It was a hard fight, and I’m thinking, ‘Man, boxing is hard. It’s no easy game’.
“Boxing, it’s tough, and you have to give it 100 per cent because it’s a hard sport.
“Both of us are climbing up, and somebody had to stay.
“I was able to win the fight, and I told him, ‘Thanks for the fight. It was a great fight’.
“I know I’m tough. I didn’t know how tough I was. I showed myself, too.
“I’ve never been in a fight like this. It was a great learning experience.”
While Zepeda improved his professional record to 33-2, Baranchyk fell to 20-2 and has now lost two of his last three fights.
He was outpointed by Scotland’s WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine lightweight king Josh Taylor in their world title showdown in May 2019.
