By Jake Donovan
Jose Lopez picked up his fifth consecutive knockout - and his quickest in well over a year - with a 1st round knockout of Leivi Brea in their featherweight bout Saturday evening in Catano, Puerto Rico.
The fight never really had a chance to get going, a testament to Lopez' determination to give the crowd a thrill. The 20-year old succeeded, to the detriment of the hapless Brea,
a 37-year old Dominican who hadn't fought in nearly 18 months.
Brea now has less than three minutes of action to his name in that span, thanks to the lethal fists of Lopez. A left hook had Brea - now 19-11-3 (10KO) - out on his feet, prompting the referee to jump in and stop the contest.
The official time was 2:33 of round one.
Lopez cruises to 13-0 (11KO) with the win, his first of 2014. Nicknamed 'Wonder Boy', the rangy super bantamweight stormed to five wins in 2013 while being groomed as the center piece of Miguel Cotto's promotional company (
Promociones Miguel Cotto
).
The quick exit was his fastest knockout since his 6th pro fight.
The bout served as the main event on WAPA Deportes.
Still to come:
O'Nell Negron v. Irvin Hernandez - 6 rds, lightweight
Rashidi Ellis v. Orlando Falcon - 6 rds, welterweight
UNDERCARD
Charlie Clemente remained unbeaten with a six-round decision over veteran Omar Soto in their junior flyweight bout. Scores were 58-55 (twice) and 57-56 for Clemente (6-0 [1NC], 3KO), whose development has come at a deliberate pace since turning pro in July '12.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
