By Jake Donovan
 
The outcomes were pretty much as expected in the pair of televised fights from the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona. What wasn’t expected was the lack of action produced in either bout, with middleweight David Lopez and lightweight David Rodela each emerging victorious in relatively uneventful decisions.

Lopez extended his winning streak to 13 straight in the evening’s main event. Fighting in his home away from home, “El Destroller” prevailed in a virtual shutout over struggling Colombian banger Samuel Miller in a bout that fell considerably short of expectations.

Both fighters seemed far too respectful of the other’s punching power, as an anticipated punch-out instead opened up as a slowly-paced chess match. Lopez sought opportunities to land his straight left, but Miller wisely kept his distance to minimize damage. Anytime Lopez would open up in the first few rounds, Miller responded with overhand rights.

Miller jumped out to a quick start in the third, but was wild in his attack, causing Lopez to clinch in an effort to bring the fight back to his desired pace. Things were slowed to a crawl until the Mexican southpaw let his hands go late in the round, landing straight lefts upstairs and right hooks to the body.

Much of the fourth and fifth rounds were fought one punch at a time. Lopez drew an “ahh” out of his adopted hometown crowd early in the fifth with a straight left that drove Miller backwards, but it was a rare reaction from the crowd to go with the rare moments of action with which they were presented.

Things didn’t pick up much in the sixth, though the two engaged in more exchanges than in rounds prior. Miller began doubling up on his jab, forcing Lopez into the role of counterpuncher and allowing the Colombian to better pick his spots. A Lopez low blow two minutes into the round, for which he drew a warning, was one of the few standout moments of the evening.

Another warning would come early in the seventh, putting Lopez one more infraction away from having a point deducted. Miller tried to sell the referee on another low blow midway through the round, but to no avail as he was instructed to mix it up. Lopez detected his opponent’s psyche waning, and decided to take control of the tempo, nullifying Miller’s offensive output in the process.

A defensive adjustment allowed Miller to better pick his spots in the eighth, minimizing Lopez’ scoring opportunities while firing off combinations in return. Neither fighter landed much of anything, with the script hardly changing in the ninth round.

Lopez offered a straight left behind a double jab to start the tenth, but the blow that would prove to be most effective on the cards was delivered by Miller. Believing he was clipped by an undetected low blow, Miller took matters into his own hands, landing a straight right that landed center mass on Lopez’ crown jewels.

The punch was deemed an intentional foul, resulting in an immediate point deduction. Not that it mattered much, as Miller was already way behind and badly in a need of a knockout that clearly wasn’t ever coming. Instead, he fought as if he was trying to get himself tossed out of the fight, landing headbutts and elbows before receiving a final warning.

Because a fringe title of sorts was on the line, a normally scheduled ten round affair was instead extended into the championship rounds. Lopez used the extra six minutes to his advantage, while Miller fought like a man who wanted to be anywhere but in a ring.

The eleventh was perhaps Lopez’ best round of the fight, repeatedly landing in combinations as Miller refused to let his hands go. The closest he came was at rounds end, when he grabbed Lopez behind his head in an effort to throw a right hand. The infraction cost him a second point on the scorecards, all but confirming the inevitable.

It was a hardly a bang with which was the 12th and final round was met, though Lopez attempted to give the crowd somewhat of a happy ending. Miller spent nearly the entire round fighting in reverse, while Lopez took advantage anytime the two worked their way into a corner. Whenever Miller’s back touched the ropes, he was met with rapid-fire combinations to the head and body, including one last jab and straight left to the midsection at the bell.

The outcome was a no-brainer, though the scoring wasn’t quite as academic as one would believe. Final scores were 119-108, 118-109 and 117-110 suggested that either all three judges scored one round even, or they collectively missed one of the two points deducted from Miller’s card.

Either way, the verdict was unanimous in favor of Lopez, who takes his 13th straight. He improves to 37-12 (23KO), though no telling whether or not a long-elusive title shot is any more within reach than was the case at the start of the evening.

A future that’s easier to predict would be Miller’s. Once upon a time a red-hot prospect, the Colombian middleweight has now lost three of his last four, with the one win in that stretch coming against an 0-3 fighter. Miller falls to 18-3 (15KO) overall, with little hope of a future beyond well-paid notable journeyman.

The co-feature saw David Rodela take a split decision over badly faded former featherweight champion Kevin Kelley. Rodela was the busier fighter throughout and was effective to the body. Kelley had his moments, often landing the more telling blows when he let his hands go.

One judge favored Kelley’s more substantive punches, scoring 78-74 in his favor. Rodela prevailed on the other two cards by scores of 78-74 and a more accurate 77-75.

The win is the fifth straight for the 26 year old Rodela, who improves to 11-1-2 (6KO) overall. Kelley continues his recent streak of win one, lose won, falling to 60-9-2 (39KO).

The show aired live on Telefutura and was presented by Golden Boy Promotions.

Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.