Lenny Zappavigna: record, next fight and profile →
Bob Arum admits he thought Alex Saucedo’s championship dream was ruined. Saucedo’s promoter watched from a ringside seat as Australia’s Lenny Zappavigna drilled Saucedo with one punishing punch after another in the fourth round June 30. The undefeated Saucedo seemed well on his way to getting knocked out in his hometown of Oklahoma City.
So what were veteran trainer Abel Sanchez's thoughts on Alex Saucedo's bloody and violent seventh round stoppage of Lenny Zappavigna this past weekend? The ESPN televised co-feature was by far the shining star of the entire event.
Fewer viewers watched the show that featured Gilberto Ramirez’s super middleweight title defense Saturday night than tuned in for the previous ESPN broadcast he headlined. According to ratings revealed Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research, an average audience of 632,000 watched the telecast Saturday night in which Ramirez beat Alexis Angulo in the main event. Ramirez’s prior performance on ESPN, a sixth-round stoppage of Habib Ahmed, drew an average viewership of 741,000 on February 3 from Corpus Christi, Texas.
Gilberto Ramirez: I can’t get a good handle on Ramirez. On one hand, the lanky Mexican is a good, durable boxer who has never lost. On the other hand, he isn’t particularly quick or athletic and doesn’t take advantage of his height and length when he fights, which are liabilities.
In a fight of the year candidate, Alex Saucedo landed 50% of his power shots vs. the tough as nails Lenny Zappavigna. They combined to land 70 of 157 power punches in round 4 (Zappa 42 of 95/Saucedo 28 of 62).
Saucedo, Lenny Z Fight Photos Gallery - There will be blood. A lot of blood. Oklahoma City’s native son, Alex “El Cholo” Saucedo, thrilled the hometown fans with a seventh-round TKO over Lenny Zappavigna in a 140-pound battle. Zappavigna’s corner stopped the bout, but it was a nip-and-tuck affair from the beginning.
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City - In a junior welterweight fire-fight, Alex Saucedo (28-0, 18 KOs) recovered from near disaster and stopped Lenny Zappavigna (37-3, 27 KOs) in the seventh round. Lenny Z came out ready to fight in the first round, but it was Saucedo who was landing the majority of the accurate, hard punches.
Saucedo, Lenny Z Scorecard BoxingScene live - The biggest card to hit The Sooner State in years will feature a local product, Oklahoma City native Alex "El Cholo" Saucedo (27-0, 17 KOs) against Lenny Zappavigna (37-3, 27 KOs) in 10-round junior welterweight bout. (photos by Mikey Williams).
Alex Saucedo is facing Lenny Zappavigna tonight on ESPN, but he also has battles he wants to win outside of the ring. Those battles are close to him and where he grew up on the south side of his hometown of Oklahoma City. Those battles are trying to keep kids and teenagers on the straight and narrow so they could fulfill their dreams just as Saucedo is doing.
Saucedo, Lenny Z Weights Photos Gallery - The biggest card to hit The Sooner State in years will feature a local product, Oklahoma City native Alex "El Cholo" Saucedo (27-0, 17 KOs) against Lenny Zappavigna (37-3, 27 KOs) in 10-round junior welterweight bout. (photos by Mikey Williams).