A contentious fight week left Josue Vargas claiming to have won the press conference and the weigh-in.

Once the opening bell sounded, Jose Zepeda won the only fight that mattered.

California’s Zepeda made a major statement in hostile territory, twice flooring Josue Vargas en route to a first-round knockout Saturday evening at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Vargas recovered after a knockdown one minute into the fight, before a barrage of corners left him defenseless and down before the fight was stopped at 1:45 of round one of their junior welterweight contest.

The main event participants exchanged plenty of harsh words during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference, where the 32-year-old Zepeda—a former title challenger—vowed to prove to the 23-year-old Vargas that “there are levels to this.” He would have to do so without the services of his brother and head trainer Rene Zepeda, who was barred from entering the ring following his role in a melee during Friday’s weigh-in.

Zepeda was just fine on his own.

Vargas was eager for his first ESPN+ headliner, taking place mere miles from his hometown in The Bronx. The fight may have proved to be too much, too soon. Zepeda was well-equipped for battle, fighting behind the jab and looking for the perfect opportunity to make his presence felt.

It came in the form of an overhand left that crashed down on Vargas’s thickly bearded chin. The sequence sent the Boricua prospect crashing to the canvas, so dazed that he rose and fell down again and nearly through the ropes.

Vargas managed to beat the count but was never able to find his legs.

“I told him I hit hard,” Zepeda told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel in the ring following the win. “I hit him and didn’t think he’d recover from that. He was wobbly on his feet and that’s how I finished.”

Zepeda refused to let him off the hook, unloading a swarm of power punches on a cornered Vargas who slunk to the canvas as referee David Fields mercifully waved off the contest.

“I was ready. I was 100% ready,” noted Zepeda, who improves to 35-2 (27KOs). “I told him in the press conference there’s levels to this. He wanted the fight. I showed him tonight that there’s levels to this.”

Vargas was dealt the harshest of lessons, falling to 19-2 (9KOs) as his 13-fight win streak comes to a crashing halt.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox