SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda took his latest fight on seven days notice.
Castaneda, who was originally set to fight a different boxer this month before that opponent contracted COVID-19, answered the call last week to fight Jose Zepeda at the MGM Grand Tuesday evening. Zepeda too was scheduled to fight someone else until that fighter suffered a rib injury and dropped out at the last minute.
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“Tremendo” told KSAT 12 Sports Saturday that he was staying ‘fight ready’ and had no concerns going up against a veteran fighter who was trying to get back to a world title shot.
Zepeda (32-2, 25 KOs) came out ready to fight, which was the first time he’s done so since September of last year. Castaneda (17-2, 8 KOs) took his time to find his rhythm against the quick hitting and accurate Zepeda. It wasn’t until the sixth round that Castaneda began to land his own powerful combinations.
Castaneda did the same for the seventh and eighth rounds, backing up Zepeda.
But that would be the end of that.
Zepeda finished the final two rounds just like he started the 10-round super lightweight main event bout.
The final scorecards were all in favor of Zepeda, 97-93, 98-92 and 98-92, winning his second consecutive fight by unanimous decision. Castaneda has lost both his fights this year.
However, for all the hype and love the broadcast showed for Zepeda, he didn’t put away Castaneda easily. He stayed busy keeping up the assault but it was not overwhelming. Zepeda did enough to win the bout but Zepeda admitted he did not know what to expect from Castaneda. He realized Castaneda could take a hit and wouldn’t go away.
Castaneda indeed showed a lot of fight and never backed away from the quick hitting power punches of Zepeda. While Zepeda needed this fight to continue his dreams of climbing the 140 pound division and fight for a world title, Castaneda will use this as a lesson to continue his young career and wait for his next battle in the ring.
Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 Sports for over 17 years and is an award-winning sports producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com
