By Jake Donovan

One of these days, undefeated junior featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez will actually find himself in a fight. Only when we see how he handles adversity can we properly gauge whether the multi-talented southpaw is befitting of the title of Puerto Rico’s next boxing superstar.

Until then, we’re left with junk like Saturday’s performance that continues to stunt the growth of one of the brightest rising stars in the sport today.

Previously unbeaten Olivier Lontchi looked less like Gerry Penalosa and more like the ever growing list of fighters who completely shut down the moment they spot Lopez in the other corner. The Cameroon-born fringe contender did everything in his power to avoid engaging in actual fight with the Puerto Rican boxer puncher.

When that didn’t work, he simply quit on his stool after nine rounds of one-sided action.

The bout headlined a pay-per-view card which aired live from the Adrian Phillips Ballroom in Atlantic City, New Jersey and was presented and independently distributed by Top Rank Inc.

In all fairness, Lopez, 121 ½, Caguas, Puerto Rico, came to fight, as is the case every time he laces ‘em up. His game face is always on and it’s 100% business from the first press conference until the final bell.

It was in that very manner in which he opened up what on paper appeared to be a decent test for the 2004 Puerto Rican Olympic boxer. Somebody forgot to pass the news along to Lontchi, 120, Montreal, Quebec City, Canada by way of Cameroon.

The fringe contender turned the fight into a track meet and clinch fest the moment he tasted Lopez’ power, which came very early in the fight. A right hand immediately sent Lontchi into panic mode, spending the rest of the round looking to clinch whenever Lopez threatened to go on the attack.

His worst fears were realized when a right hand sent him to the canvas in the second round for the first of two official knockdowns in the fight. After spending the entire third round on the run, Lontchi actually tried fighting back for a good portion of the middle rounds.

There was less clinching and more punching in rounds four, five and six, but the only problem was that Lopez was getting the better of nearly every exchange. It was enough to convince Lontchi to all but quit fighting, leading to a dominant eighth and ninth round for Lopez.

Referee Bob Huggins, who wound up working overtime in a fight that featured far too many stop and starts, warned both fighters for errant punches below the belt in the eighth round. It was the closest Lontchi would ever again come to a two-way exchange as Lopez went for the kill. A straight left had Lontchi on rubber legs, but managed to survive the onslaught and the round, thanks to timely clinching.

The clutch and run approach didn’t work well in the ninth. Lopez went on the attack early, threatening to put an end to the fight before Lontchi dug into his bag of tricks and unveiled a new wrinkle – a low blow that was borderline deliberate. Time was called to allow Lopez to recover and for Lontchi to catch an earful from Huggins, who threatened to take a point for the next occurrence.

Lontchi obliged, only to find himself on the canvas for the second time of the fight, courtesy of a Lopez right at around the 2:00 of the ninth round. It wasn’t enough to end Lontchi’s night, though that would eventually come soon after the end of the round, at which point he opted out of the fight.

The official time was 3:00 of round nine.

Lopez makes the fourth successful defense of the alphabet title he won in the very same building with a violent first round knockout of Daniel Ponce de Leon just over a year ago. The Puerto Rican improves to 26-0 (24KO) in yet another performance where he just absolutely overwhelms his opponent due to his massive size and power advantage.

Lontchi loses for the first time as a pro, falling to 18-1-2 (8KO).

Given Lopez’ star is on the rise, naturally fight fans want to see him take on the very best of the division. With Israel Vazquez returning from a year-long absence and defecting to featherweight, and Rafael Marquez seemingly right behind him, that would leave Panamian beanpole Celestino Caballero, who already owns a couple of titles.

Such a fight would declare a new king atop the junior featherweight division. History suggests that promoter Bob Arum would deem such a matchup “an unnecessary business fight.”

Hopefully, other challenges will instead be sought. Because as talented and exciting to watch is Juan Manuel Lopez, he and his fans deserve better than more of the same.

UNDERCARD

The always entertaining Jorge Arce kept his career afloat with a bounce-back third round knockout win over Fernando Lumacad.

Fighting for the first time since a brutal one-sided knockout loss at the hands of Vic Darchinyan earlier this year, Arce (52-5-1, 40KO) was in control for the duration of the brief affair. The lone scare came in the second round, when an accidental headbutt left the Mexican with a cut over his left eye. The fight didn’t last long enough for it to become a factor, flooring Lumacad (19-2-2, 7KO) with a counter right hand early in the third. Lumacad took the full ten count, ending the fight at 0:35 of round three.

Hours after fellow Armenian and close friend Arthur Abraham scored a decisive 10th round knockout in Berlin, Germany, undefeated junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan (25-0, 16KO) cruised in what was supposed to be the biggest test of his career. The brash 2004 US Olympian hit Andrey Tsurkan (26-5, 17KO) with every punch in the book before the fight was stopped after six violently one-sided rounds.

There were no knockdowns in the fight, although Martirosyan had him badly hurt in the fourth, and progressively grew more vicious in his attack in the subsequent rounds. Swelling around Tsurkan’s left eye is ultimately what led to the stoppage, although the insane amount of punishment he absorbed was every bit as qualifying.

If Tsurkan for whatever reason decides to continue with his career, he should strongly consider dumping his manager and his promoter (Star Boxing). This was the second straight fight in which his handlers willingly pimped him out, having endured a massive beating at the hands of Alfredo Angulo eight months ago. Without so much as a tune-up offered, he is once again thrown to the wolves, having now not only gotten his ass kicked in two straight fights, but hasn’t so much as won a single round in well over a year.

Meanwhile, Martirosyan’s stock has never been higher. There have been rumblings of 2009 becoming his breakout year, and the Glendale (CA)-based junior middleweight is well on his way. The win was already the third of the year for the 23-year old, with a possible Boxing After Dark showcase on tape later this year or in early 2010.

In a bout that never should’ve been put together, never mind allowed on television, junior middleweights Yuri Foreman and Cornelius Bundrage saw their snoozer cut short thanks to a cut-inducing accidental headbutt forcing a no-contest after three rounds.

The fight was every bit as boring as it threatened to be on paper, with neither fighter landing – or even throwing – much of anything in a fight that drew the boo birds early and often. An accidental clash of heads left Foreman (27-0-0-1NC, 8KO) with a cut over his right eye and was deemed unfit to continue by referee Eddie Cotton and the ringside physician.

Bundrage (29-4- 0-1NC, 17KO) benefitted from the early stoppage. The former Contender contestant was hurt early in the round, but Foreman was denied the chance to capitalize on the rare sequence of momentum after enduring the untimely cut.

Because the fight was sanctioned as a title eliminator, it’s possible the two will have to once again square off. Hopefully next time, whoever promotes the fight will have the decency to make sure it’s in a non-televised capacity.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.