Brick-fisted Lemieux put Tapia down in the fourth round after dominating proceedings until Roach had seen enough and pulled his man out.
Tapia disputed Roach’s decision after the fight, although the five-time Trainer of the Year was sure he made the correct decision.
“He was getting hit too much. He wasn’t doing what we planned to do and when I saw him go down, I knew what I had to do to protect my fighter. He was taking too many punches.”
On his victory, Lemieux stated:
David Lemieux, 35-3, 32 KOs – TKO4 over Glen Tapia: “This victory means the world to me. It proves all the doubters that Lemieux is back. When I first got offered this fight, I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. We made sure to have the best training camp possible and within the first round I knew I was dominating. I knew after the first round that I would knock him out. I’m ready to be among the best in the middleweight division and become a world champion again.”
Frankie Gomez gave a faultless performance to out-score the seasoned Mauricio Herrera and move to 21-0.
The Freddie Roach-trained welterweight carded a shut-out through ten rounds and can expect to be in the mix for a title shot in the next twelve months, on this form.
Frankie Gomez, 21-0, 13 KOs UD over Mauricio Herrera: “It feels good to get this victory. I trained really hard and it paid off. I’m ready to take on my next challenge and take on the best at 140. I want to thank my fans, and I’m glad I was able to put on a good show for them.”
Former world middleweight title challenger Curtis Stevens put himself back in the spotlight by ending the perfect record of Brazilian Patrick Teixeira, 26-1.
Stevens, under his new alias as the ‘Cerebral Assasin,’ used his superior power to drop Teixeira twice on the way to a second round victory.
Curtis Stevens, 28-5, 21 KOs – TKO2 over Patrick Teixeira: “The name of the game is to knock people out and that’s what I did tonight,” said Curtis Stevens. “I feel great to get back into the game after my one and a half year break. I really want Lemieux, but I will take whatever I can get. My head is right, and I’m ready to take on whoever.”
Cousin on promoter Oscar De La Hoya, Diego De La Hoya kept his undefeated run going with a seventh round stoppage win over Rocco Santamauro.
Santamauro’s coach Shane Mosley threw the towel in as his fighter was bloodied and had no hope of winning the fight on points.
Diego De La Hoya, 15-0, 9 KOs TKO7 over Rocco Santamauro: “From the very beginning Shane Mosley has been talking about this being De La Hoya vs. Mosely III, and that inspired me to train really hard for this fight and focus on my speed and strength. This victory is satisfying to me because it shows all the hard work I put into my training camp. I wasn’t expecting the knockout but it was very satisfying, and I believe the crowd enjoyed it. After that knockout, I knew he couldn’t take anymore.”
Ireland’s Jason Quigley impressed with a ten-round points win over James De La Rosa. After the fight, Quigley name-dropped headliner Canelo as a possible future foe.
Jason Quigley, 11-0, 9 KOs – UD over James De La Rosa: “I feel unbelievable. This is the stage I wanted to headline. I hope to be back soon. I am willing, and of course, I’d love to fight Canelo someday.
David Mijares won on his debut, whilst Rashidi Ellis and Lamont Roach remained undefeated.
Fighter quotes:
David Mijares, 1-0 – UD over Omar Reyes: “The win still hasn’t settled in. I’m just out here trying to do my work and that’s all I was focused on.”
Rashidi Ellis, 15-0, 11 KOs – UD over Marco Lopez: “It feels great to walk out of the ring undefeated. I was a little rusty going in because I haven’t fought in a year and a half. It feels amazing to open up the T-Mobile Arena on the undercard of Canelo-Khan. I see more fights in Las Vegas in my future.”
Lamont Roach Jr., 11-0, 3 KOs – UD over Jose Porras: “I think I had a good fight tonight. I came out strong on the big stage. It seemed like Jose Arturo came to survive, but he wasn’t really engaging too much. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to win this one. If I can’t knock him out might as well pitch a shut out.”
