In the main event, WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (27-0, 24 KOs) had a much more difficult time than expected with challenger Rogers Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs). Despite sweeping the early rounds, Lopez found himself in a war with Mtagwa, who continued to press forward looking for the knockout. Both men traded heavy leather in non-stop, toe-to-toe action that left Lopez barely surviving the final round as Mtagwa tried to win in a dramatic fashion in what should be considered a candidate for Fight of the Year.
ROUND 1
Lopez is keeping his distance behind a stiff jab. Mtagwa presses forward behind some wild punches, but Lopez easily controls the action with his movement. 1-2 lands for Lopez. Mtagwa fires back with a right hand. Mtagwa fires some more wild shots. Right hand followed by a left lands for Lopez. A right hook at the end of the round drops an off-balance Mtagwa, but it's ruled a slip. Round to Lopez.
Lopez 20 Mtagwa 9
ROUND 2
Lopez continues to control the action in the second round behind his jab. Mtagwa bulls forward swinging wildly. A couple of stiff left hands from Lopez stops Mtagwa in his tracks. Mtagwa lands a nice right hand, but he eats a right hook in return. A couple of short right hooks from Mtagwa land on the inside. Two nice right hooks land for Lopez now, but Mtagwa lands a nice left hook of his own right at the bell. Round to Lopez, but Mtagwa awkwardness is making it interesting.
Lopez 20 Mtagwa 18
ROUND 3
Mtagwa continues to press the action. Right hand lands for Mtagwa. Lopez answers with a hard 1-2. Two nice left hands land for Lopez. Mtagwa fires back with a right hook. Another left lands for Lopez, but Mtagwa continues to fire back. Right for Mtagwa lands and a left lands for Lopez. Both men trading heavy leather and landing big shots. Two nice right hooks land for Loepz. Lopez lands a left and Mtagwa lands another right. Another nice right and a left lands for Lopez. Mtagwa lands a big right hand and Lopez is cut. Lopez lands a combination at the end of the round. Great round. I give it to Lopez for landing more shots, but it's getting real interesting in there.
Lopez 30 Mtagwa 27
ROUND 4
Lopez showing a lot of movement. BIG left hand lands for Lopez. Mtagwa answers with a left hook. Both men trade big punches. Lopez lands a right. Left hook lands for Mtagwa. Lopez retreats now. Right to the body lands for Mtagwa. Right hook lands for Lopez. Mtagwa continues to stalk and lands a right. Round to Lopez, who's looking a little tired after being lured into Mtagwa's type of fight.
Lopez 40 Mtagwa 36
ROUND 5
Mtagwa lands a right down the middle. Left hook lands for Lopez. Straight left lands for Lopez. HARD right hook lands for Lopez and he dances away. Right hand from Lopez grazes Mtagwa, who goes down. Looked like a slip, but it's ruled a knockdown. He's up and appears to be okay. HARD straight left lands for Lopez. Mtagwa lands a right hand and a left hook. Lopez lands a right. BIG right hook lands for Lopez. Round to Lopez.
Lopez 50 Mtagwa 44
ROUND 6
Short right hook on the inside lands for Lopez. Another right hook lands for Lopez. The pace has slowed a lot for Mtagwa. Lopez back to pumping the jab in the face of Mtagwa while dancing around the ring. Chopping right hand lands for Lopez. Mtagwa just following now and lunging in with sloppy punches. Right hook lands for Lopez. Mtagawa digs a couple of shots to the body. Round to Lopez.
Lopez 60 Mtagwa 53
ROUND 7
Left hand down the middle lands for Lopez. Nice left to the body and another upstairs to the head lands for Lopez. Mtagwa lands a right to the body. HARD right hand lands for Mtagwa and Lopez holds on. Lopez lands a right. Mtagwa answers with his own right. BIG right hand lands for Mtagwa. Lopez retreats. Left to the body lands for Mtagwa. Right hand lands upstairs for Mtagwa. Lopez lands a short right hook on the inside. Another right lands for Mtagwa. Both men trade. Big right hand lands for Mtagwa at the bell. Round to Mtagwa.
Lopez 69 Mtagwa 63
ROUND 8
Lopez lands a left hook to start the round. Both men trade on the inside. Lopez turning up the heat a bit as he presses forward. Straight left lands for Lopez. HARD right hand lands for Lopez. Mtagwa fires back with a 1-2. BIG right hook lands for Lopez. Nice left to the body lands for Lopez. 1-2 lands for Lopez. Straight left lands for Lopez. Mtagwa lands a left hook. Lopez works the body. Nice five-punch combo lands for Lopez. Mtagwa lands a right. Lopez lands another nice four-punch combo. Round to Lopez.
Lopez 79 Mtagwa 72
ROUND 9
Both men swinging wildly and missing. Mtagwa lands a HUGE right hand that appears to rock Lopez. Lopez fires back though and lands a right hook. Left to the body lands for Lopez. Both men looking a bit sloppy now. They trade on the inside. Lopez lands a left hand that stagger Mtagwa. Mtagwa lands a right hand right at the bell. Round to Lopez.
Lopez 89 Mtagwa 81
ROUND 10
Lopez comes out fast firing combinations. Mtagwa digs a right to the body. Lopez lands a nice body shot of his own. Two BIG right hands land for Mtagwa. Another right hook lands for Mtagwa. HARD uppercut lands for Mtagwa. Lopez retreats. Nice left lands for Mtagwa. Lopez answers with a right. Mtagwa lands a bigger right. Lopez looks a little shaky. End of round. Round to Mtagwa.
Lopez 98 Mtagwa 91
ROUND 11
Hard right and a left lands for Mtagwa. Lopez retreats. WOOOOO...BIG right hand from Mtagwa and Lopez staggers. Mtagwa swinging for the fences. Lopez lands a left. Mtagwa works the body. A couple of uppercuts land for Mtagwa. Lopez lands a left. A left and a right lands for Lopez and now Mtagwa looks hurt. He holds on. Right hand lands for Mtagwa. Uppercut lands for Mtagwa. Left and a right lands for Mtagwa. BIG right hand lands for Mtagwa and Lopez looks rocked again. End of another great round. Round to Mtagwa.
Lopez 107 Mtagwa 101
ROUND 12
Lopez on his bike. BIG right hand lands for Mtagwa. Lopez answers with a right hook. Another right and a left lands for Mtagwa. Lopez looks real shaky. Mtagwa firing bombs. Two HUGE right hands land for Mtagwa. Lopez looks ready to go. He holds on. Mtagwa lands another right hand. Another. Lopez runs away. Another right and a left lands for Mtagwa. Lopez barely standing up right now. Another right lands for Mtagwa. Lopez holds on. Mtagwa lands a right and a left hook. Lopez staggers across the ring. Dominant round for Mtagwa. Definitely a 10-8 round.
Lopez 115 Mtagwa 111
Official judges scorecards:
116-111
114-113
115-111
THE WINNER BY UNANIMOUS DECISION...AND STILL UNDEFEATED WBO JR. FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD...JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ
COMPUBOX
Lopez total punches: 327/836
Mtagwa total punches: 216/606
Lopez power punches: 297/732
Mtagwa power punches: 197/440
POSTFIGHT
"He was a very strong guy. Sometimes it's very difficult to fight guys like this because they have nothing to lose...I thought I won the fight. I had it under control," stated Juan Manuel Lopez. "The two guys we're looking at are Luevano and Rojas...in Puerto Rico, January 23 on the number one network HBO," stated promoter Bob Arum regarding the future plans of Lopez.
In the co-main event, WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (16-0, 14 KOs) kept his title and his undefeated record intact after a dominating win over Whyber Garcia (22-7, 15 KOs). After a slow start in the first three rounds, Gamboa turned up the pressure in the fourth as he quickly jumped on Garcia with a blistering combination. A hard right hand from Gamboa caught Garcia flush on the jaw and sent him crashing face first to the canvas. Although Garcia would make it back to his feet, it was all but over for him as Gamboa unleashed a barrage of punches that left referee Steve Smoger no choice but to jump in and call a halt to the action 58 seconds into the round. "I want to face whoever thinks that they're better than me. I want to prove that I'm the best in the world," Gamboa commented during the post-fight press conference. When asked about the possibility of a clash with WBO super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez, Tony Gonzalez, Gamboa's manager, stated, "Why not? Bring him on!"
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