NSAC reportedly declines to approve Jose Zepeda vs Pedro Campa on May 22nd

Jose Zepeda needs a new opponent for his upcoming stint as the May 22nd Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez co-feature, as Dan Rafael reports that the Nevada State Athletic Commission “declined to approve” Pedro Campa as his opponent.

This isn’t NSAC’s first time doing this; they put the kibosh on Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Jaime Munguia back in 2018 and shot down two different opponents for Andrew Cancio last year. To be fair to them, this one was also pretty damn lopsided. Zepeda (33-2, 26 KO) flatlined Ivan Baranchyk last time out and is the WBC top contender, while Campa’s (32-1-1, 21 KO) most noteworthy achievement was fighting Abner Lopez to a split draw in 2019.

Still, there’s no shortage of mismatches that NSAC and other athletic commissions have allowed and will continue to allow, so it’s always strange to see what actually draws their ire. At least Top Rank has plenty of time to find someone new.