Zepeda Beating Diaz Could Lead To Ricky Burns Eliminator

By Francisco Salazar

Jose 'Chon' Zepeda will fight Ammeth Diaz on January 23, Zanfer Promotions liaison Sean Gibbons told BoxingScene.com.

The 10 round bout will take place at the Palenque Fex in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. The bout will be televised live on beIN Sports en Espanol in the United States and on Azteca in Mexico.

Zepeda (23-1 1NC, 20 KOs) is winless in his last two bouts. In his last bout on October 31, Zepeda and Jose Alfaro fought to a no contest after the first round when the fight was stopped an accidental clash of heads opened a cut under Zepeda's left eye. The ringside physician recommended for the fight to be stopped.

On July 11, Zepeda fought Terry Flanagan for the vacant WBO lightweight title. He could not continue after the second round when Zepeda somehow dislocated his left shoulder, remaining on his stool after the second round.

Gibbons told BoxinScene.com should Zepeda come out victorious on Saturday, the La Puente, Calif. resident could be in line to fight Ricky Burns for the right to be the mandatory challenger to face Flanagan.

Diaz (32-12, 23 KOs), who hails from Panama City, Panama, has been a pro for over 15 years. In his last bout on July 11, Diaz was stopped by Walter Castillo in the third round.

In his only attempt at a world title belt, Diaz lost a one-sided 12 round decision to Miguel Vazquez in January of 2012.

Diaz does have wins over contenders Leonardo Zappavigna and Ray Beltran.

in the opening televised bout, scheduled for 10 rounds, junior featherweight Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr. (20-4-1, 9 KOs) of Mexico will fight Jhon Gemino (12-5-1, 5 KOs) of the Philippines.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing