Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) successfully defended his IBF featherweight crown with an eighth-round TKO win over Japanese contender Reiya Abe (25-4-1, 10 KOs).
Abe struggled with Lopez’s offense as the Mexican warrior launched forward with power shots from odd angles. A left hand from Lopez caused Abe’s right eye to swell. The ringside physician allowed him to continue, as Lopez continued to march forward.
In the eighth round, inspired by the cheers from the crowd, Lopez initiated a flurry of quick strikes, which forced referee Mark Nelson to halt the action at :39.
Lopez said, “I turned and looked at my family, my baby, my wife and my mom and dad, and that was the key to my motivation. I knew I had to finish the fight.
“Abe was a warrior. He was able to continue with his eye shut. He continued fighting with a lot of heart. We know that Japanese fighters have a lot of heart. But I also have a lot of hunger to continue being a world champion, and I had to show that.
“Like I have been saying, it would be great for me to unify. But I would also like to have a fight at 130 pounds. If they put me in against the winner of Oscar Valdez and Liam Wilson, that would be stupendous.”
Welterweight: Brian Norman Jr. (25-0, 19 KOs) and Janelson Bocachica (17-2-1, 11 KOs) fought to a no decision. Bocachica suffered a cut in the opening round. He landed a chopping counter right hand in the final seconds that dropped Norman, who himself was cut above his right eye in the second stanza. By round three, Bocachica’s cut prompted the referee to stop the fight at the end of the round.
Junior Welterweight: Hometown hero Bryce Mills (15-1, 5 KOs) defeated Gerffred Ngayot (6-2, 5 KOs) via six-round unanimous decision. An aggressive Mills fought at a high pace, which Ngayot had trouble keeping up with. Mills slowed down in the final two rounds, but landed more on a defensively-minded Ngayot. Scores: 58-57 and 60-54 2x.
Middleweight: U.S. Olympian Troy Isley (12-0, 5 KOs) made a statement in his second fight with new trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre. Isley delivered a seventh-round TKO over Marcos Hernandez (16-7-2, 3 KOs). Isley battled rhythmically throughout the fight, easily mixing in offense and defense, before landing a right hand that dropped Hernandez and forced referee Mark Nelson to stop the fight at 1:30.
Bantamweight: Floyd Diaz (11-0, 3 KOs) tallied a unanimous points win against Puerto Rican veteran Edwin Rodriguez (12-8-2, 5 KOs). Diaz landed his counter right uppercut frequently on a game Rodriguez, whose spirited effort was subdued by Diaz’s sharper counters. Scores: 78-74, 79-73 and 80-72.
Junior Welterweight: Dominican Olympian Rohan Polanco (12-0, 7 KOs) handed Tarik Zaina (13-1-1, 8 KOs) his first loss tonight, battering him from post to post en route to an eight-round unanimous decision. Zaina was crafty on the outside, but Polanco overwhelmed him with constant pressure and counterpunching, dropping him and nearly finishing the job in the final round. Scores: 78-72 and 79-71 2x.
Middleweight: Nico Ali Walsh (10-1, 5 KOs) defeated Charles Stanford (7-6, 4 KOs) via six-round unanimous decision. Scores: 59-55 and 60-54 2x. It marked the second straight win for the grandson of “The Greatest,” who suffered his lone defeat last August.
Heavyweight: Brandon Moore (14-0, 8 KOs) remained unbeaten with a hard-earned unanimous points verdict against Helaman Olguin (9-7-1, 4 KOs). Scores: 80-72 3x.
