Quilisto Madera looks to secure challenging fights after win over Zepeda

Middleweight Quilisto Madera will look to keep his winning streak alive when he squares off against Hector Zepeda Saturday evening at the Memorial Civic Auditorium in Stockton, California.

The scheduled eight-round bout will serve as the main event of a Toscano Boxing Promotions card streamed live on FightHype.

Madera (13-3, 9 KOs), who trains and resides in Stockton, returns from a year-long layoff.

He last fought in August 2021, when he scored a third-round knockout of Roberto Alvarez. In his previous contest, Madera suffered an eight-round split decision defeat to Jose Resendiz, a loss he disputes.

"I thought I won that fight [against Resendiz]," Madera told FightNights.com. "I went to Mexico [in the fight against Alvarez] to get a win. I wanted to have a win on my record as my last fight for a better opportunity to come up."

Madera explained that he learned a valuable lesson in the Resendiz fight.

"I should have knocked his ass out," he stated. "Maybe I should have been in a 10-round fight -- I don't know."

Madera acknowledges that he needs to prove himself worthy of a 10-round fight, and a statement win over Zepeda would put him one step closer to that next goal.

"I think this is a perfect opportunity to fight in my second eight-round fight, and I just want to go out there and win. Hopefully, more opportunities will open up."

When asked if fighting in his hometown could potentially be a distraction, Madera said it shouldn't be a problem.

"I guess the only distraction would be that it's my hometown -- [I know] everyone here. But I've had a really focused camp; I'm not out and about.

"I'm just focused on my training, eating well; I'm just focused on this win. I'm focused on nothing else but fighting and winning. To me, it's an opportunity to show who I am and demonstrate my skillset and everything that I stand for."

Zepeda (21-5, 7 KOs), a Mexico native based in San Diego, has lost three of his last four fights.

"He has 21 wins," Zepeda said. "This is a perfect opportunity, even if it's a local, small card. I'm about to fight guys that are undefeated anyway. This is still a hard fight. I'm not going to underestimate him."