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Lopez KO's Michael Conlan To
Retain Featherweight World Title
Photos: Conlan Boxing
He came. He saw. He conquered.
Luis Alberto “El Venado” Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) defended
his IBF featherweight world title with a fifth-round TKO
over Michael “Mick” Conlan (18-2, 9 KOs) Saturday
evening at The SSE Arena in Conlan’s hometown of
Belfast.
Lopez made the first defense of his crown after beating
Josh Warrington in enemy territory in Leeds, England.
Once again, the 29-year-old native of Mexicali, Mexico,
thrived on away soil.
Conlan, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist making his second
attempt at a world title, initiated the contest as
expected, jabbing from a southpaw stance to establish
distance. However, Lopez landed explosive left hooks and
right hands to the body with surprising ease. Conlan
ended the round with a series of left hands, but Lopez
did not let the round end without landing some of his
own.
In the following round, both men exchanged punches to
the body. Lopez backed Conlan toward the ropes, but the
31-year-old Irishman returned the favor.
In the third stanza, Conlan relied more on head movement
to avoid Lopez’s punches, dipping his head on the inside
to avoid wild hooks. That backfired, as Lopez timed an
uppercut that hurt Conlan and sent him reeling towards
the ropes.
Conlan tried to regroup in the fourth, but by then, the
damage had been done. In the fifth round, as Conlan
ducked to avoid a wild hook, he ran into a right
uppercut that immediately floored him, forcing his
corner to throw in the towel.
Lopez said, “I hope all the world champions at the
featherweight division are ready for 'Venado' Lopez. I'm
coming for all of them. I want all their belts. One by
one, I'm taking all their belts with me to Mexico.
"It was an excellent atmosphere to fight in. The energy
was amazing. The boxing fans from Ireland have treated
me very well, so I'm glad Mick and I could give them a
great fight. I wish the best of luck to Conlan moving
forward, and I hope he recovers and comes back very
soon."
Conlan said, "Lopez had my respect before the fight and
still has my respect after the fight. He hits very hard.
He just beat me. He travels well and is a great
champion"
Featherweights: English contender Nick Ball (18-0, 11
KOs) defended his WBC Silver title with a 12th-round TKO
win over South Africa's Ludumo Lamati (21-1-1, 11 KOs).
Lamati's six-inch height advantage posed issues for Ball
in the first two rounds of the fight, but by the third
and fourth, Ball began closing the distance with ease.
Once inside, the 26-year-old landed vicious
combinations, and Lamati's corner stopped the bout in
the latter stages of the final round.
Junior Lightweights: Anthony Cacace (21-1, 7 KOs) scored
a 12-round unanimous decision win against Polish
contender Damian Wrzesinski (26-3-2, 7 KOs). Despite
Wrzesinski's aggression, Cacace’s reach and height
advantages allowed him to land harder and more
consistently from his southpaw stance. Cacace is now 6-0
since suffering his first loss in 2017 against Martin J
Ward. Scores: 118-111, 117-111 and 116-112.
Junior Welterweights: Irish standout Pierce O'Leary
(12-0, 7 KOs) defended his WBC International belt with a
first-round stoppage over Florin Ciorceri (17-4, 7 KOs).
O'Leary dropped Ciorceri with a left hook, then finished
things up with a savage follow-up attack. Time of
stoppage: 1:11.
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