Jose Zepeda vs Pedro Campa to co-headline Ramirez-Taylor on May 22nd

Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor won’t be the only elite super lightweights in action on May 22nd, as Dan Rafael reports that WBC #1 contender Jose Zepeda will co-headline the ESPN card against Mexico’s Pedro Campa.

You may recall Campa (32-1-1, 21 KO) from the two times he pulled out of fights with noteworthy opponents. He was briefly set to meet Maurice Hooker in a 2019 catchweight bout before suffering an injury, then withdrew from a February tussle with Adrien Broner just three days after getting the call when one of his team members tested positive for COVID. He might have had a shot against Broner, who underperformed badly against eventual foe Jovanie Santiago, but he figures to be dead meat against Zepeda (33-2, 26 KO).

That said, there’s definitely some valid reasoning behind this matchup. “Chon” is either second or third in line for a crack at the Ramirez-Taylor winner behind WBO mandatory Jack Catterall and potentially one of the WBA’s many secondary titlists, so he has little incentive to risk his spot against a top-flight contender. Plus, I can’t really blame the guy for taking a soft touch after earning his spot in an unreal slugfest with Ivan Baranchyk.

Rafael also revealed that top prospect Elvis Rodriguez (11-0-1, 10 KO) will meet Kenneth Sims Jr. (15-2-1, 5 KO) in an eight-rounder. Rodriguez went the distance for the first time last month against Luis Veron.