Emanuel Lopez claimed an interim junior lightweight title with a knockout win in his hometown earlier this year. His first defense came in his birth town, also resulting in a knockout performance as he battered Rolando Giono into submission in 10 rounds Saturday evening in Comitan, Mexico.
The belt at stake may not mean much, but Lopez is certainly a fighter to watch in a suddenly crowded junior lightweight division. It showed on Saturday, controlling the real estate against Giono, who was fighting outside of Panama for the first time in his career.