LAS VEGAS – Luckily for Jose Zepeda, his fight Saturday night against Hank Lundy didn’t at all resemble the spectacular slugfest he somehow won in his previous outing.

Zepeda demonstrated, however, that he still has something left following his brutal brawl with Ivan Baranchyk seven months ago. The top-rated junior welterweight contender carefully out-boxed the 37-year-old Lundy and won a rather unremarkable, 10-round unanimous decision.

Judges Glenn Feldman, Lisa Giampa and Patricia Morse Jarman all scored their fight 98-92 for Zepeda.

ESPN televised Zepeda’s win as the co-feature before the 140-pound title unification bout between Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The win will ensure that Zepeda (34-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC) remains the WBC’s number one contender for the title held by the Ramirez-Taylor winner.

Zepeda, 31, lost a controversial majority decision to Ramirez in their 12-round fight for Ramirez’s WBC super lightweight title in February 2019 at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

Philadelphia’s Lundy (31-9-1, 14 KOs) is 2-3 in his past five fights. Lundy replaced Mexico’s Pedro Campa on about three weeks’ notice because the Nevada State Athletic Commission wouldn’t approve Campa (32-1-1, 21 KOs) as Zepeda’s opponent, despite that their fight had already been announced.

Neither Zepeda nor Lundy fought with much urgency during a 10th and final round that didn’t include much action.

Zepeda snapped back Lundy’s head with a straight left and then a jab in the middle minute of the ninth round.

Zepeda landed a right to Lundy’s body and followed up with a left to his head with about 1:15 on the clock in the eighth round.

Zepeda’s straight left landed with just under 1:15 to go in the seventh round. About 30 seconds later, Zepeda landed a hard left to Lundy’s body.

Lundy connected with a straight left about 1:10 into the sixth round. By then, Zepeda bled from a cut beneath his right eye.

Zepeda and Lundy traded left hands just before the halfway point of the fifth round. Lundy landed a straight left hand that backed up Zepeda with just under 20 seconds to go in the fifth round.

Zepeda and Lundy spent most of the fourth round swinging and missing, as neither fighter appeared to have figured out his opponent.

Zepeda fell to the canvas barely 30 seconds into the third round, but referee Celestino Ruiz ruled that it was a result of their legs getting tangled. Zepeda landed a left to Lundy’s body late in the third round.

Zepeda drilled Lundy with a right to the body with just under 1:20 remaining in the second round. Lundy’s right hook up top with just over 30 seconds to go in the first round appeared to be the most significant shot of those first three minutes.

It was clear early that this fight would unfold far differently from Zepeda-Baranchyk.

Zepeda survived four knockdowns to beat Baranchyk by fifth-round knockout in a brutal battle October 9 at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. 

The resilient Zepeda also dropped Russia’s Baranchyk (20-2, 13 KOs) four times during their unforgettable fight. His left hand emphatically ended their scheduled 10-round, 140-pound fight in the fifth round.

BoxingScene.com and numerous other outlets recognized Zepeda-Baranchyk as “Fight of the Year” for 2020.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.