By Jake Donovan
If Juan Manuel Lopez wasn’t already on the threshold of stardom, then one was certainly born Saturday night in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
In what was supposed to be the toughest test in the career of the 2004 Puerto Rican Olympian, Lopez instead turned in his most complete performance to date, dominating former two-division champion Gerry Penalosa before forcing a stoppage after nine one-sided rounds.
The bout aired live on HBO as part of its acclaimed Boxing After Dark series.
More than 10,000 fans filed into a sold out Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, as clear of an indication as any that La Isla del Encante has quickly adopted young JuanMa as its latest prodigal son. The southpaw banger did everything to give the fans their money’s worth, determined to become the first fighter to stop Penalosa in the Filipino’s long and storied career.
The body attack was evident early and often, with Lopez determined to chop down Penalosa. It was a smart, measured attack, yet also extremely effective as Penalosa spent much of the round on the defensive.
Penalosa fought with greater purpose in the second round, opening things up with a right hook. The shot was immediately countered by Lopez, to which momentum quickly shifted and remained in Lopez’ direction. Straight left hands landed midway through the round, drawing a collective ooh from the raucous crowd on hand. Penalosa has never been clearly outfought by any opponent; the second round was perhaps as lopsided a round as he’s been forced to endure in his near 20-year career.
To that point, anyway; it would get worse. Much, much worse.
Things didn’t exactly improve for the Filipino in the third round. Lopez continued to alternate his attack from the body to the head and back to the body. Penalosa tried in vain to fight back, going toe to toe with Lopez towards rounds end. The action drew applause from the crowd, though mainly because JuanMa was bombing away, landing 42 punches in all during the round according to Compubox.
Chants picked up in the crowd in the fourth, as Lope remained on the hunt. Realizing that standing and trading with the young Puerto Rican wasn’t the soundest game plan, Penalosa instead tried to play a little defense. That didn’t work any better, as he spent most of the round trapped in corners, forced to fend off an oncoming Lopez for much of the round.
Lopez remained on the attack in the fifth, though there wasn’t any quit in Penalosa. The sequences remained the same throughout the round; Lopez would drive his challenger to the ropes, only for Penalosa to stand his ground and often trade. It wasn’t winning him rounds, but earning his opponent’s – and viewers’ – respect in the process.
A stoppage – or at the very least, a knockdown – threatened to surface in the sixth, to which the crowd was brought to its feet, vocal in support and breathless in anticipation. There wasn’t a punch Lopez didn’t throw or land, connecting on an absurdly high 70 power punches in the round. Through the valley of bombs, Penalosa was still standing in center ring at rounds end, staring down Lopez in his best efforts to tell him he didn’t intend on going anywhere.
He obviously intended to win rounds, but it just wasn’t happening in this fight. Even with Freddie Roach in his corner, Penalosa was outfought at every turn. A courageous stand came late in the seventh, when he connected with a right hook and left hand, although it came after absorbing a volley of power shots throughout the round.
Despite the dominance round after round, Lopez needed reassurance from his corner to confirm that he was winning the fight. Whatever answer was given (though anything other “you’re pitching a shutout” would’ve been a lie), it motivated him to take it to another level in the eighth. A right uppercut ignited yet another rally, though Penalosa was able to sneak in a right hand upstairs. He also stood and traded with Lopez in center ring, landing another right late in the round. However, it paled in comparison to the sea of right hooks that Lopez was landing upstairs, among the Compubox-record 84 power punches he landed in the round.
HBO announcers described Penalosa’s ability to absorb as “inhuman.” There’s clearly no quit in the Filipino, a trait trainer Freddie Roach knows all too well, as he told his fighter he had to turn it around in the ninth or else he was calling the fight.
Penalosa’s performance didn’t necessarily improve in the round, but Lopez slowed down enough to where the ninth appeared to be the least lopsided of any frame to that point in the fight. Action picked up in the final thirty seconds, with Penalosa letting it all hang out, trading with Lopez in what would ultimately be his last stand.
Roach embraced his fighter before informing him that his night was over. Penalosa was obviously willing to finish the fight, but was way behind on the cards and absorbing punishment of epic and record-breaking proportions.
The official time was 3:00 of round nine.
Lopez cruises to 25-0 (23KO) with the win, picking up his 13th straight stoppage along the way. The nine rounds he was extended in this fight exceeded the combined total of his last five ring appearances, including three straight first-round knockouts entering this fight.
After becoming the first to stop the iron-chinned Penalosa, Lopez now sets his sights on bigger game.
“We’ll take a rest and see what (Top Rank) wants, but we’re obviously ready for big challenges, Israel Vazquez, Rafael Marquez, whatever’s out there.”
No longer in his way is Penalosa, who falls to 54-7-2 (36KO). The fight was his tenth since returning to the ring in 2004. A highly controversial loss to Daniel Ponce de Leon was his only loss over that stretch, having collected a title belt along the way, in addition to the lineal junior bantamweight crown he held a decade ago.
All he’s now left with is memories of what used to be, as the 36-year old is forced to face a tough decision in his career.
Heading in the opposite direction is 25-year old Juan Manuel Lopez, the latest entry in the rich tradition of notable Puerto Rican stars.
PETERSON STOPS BLAIN… TWICE
Undefeated junior welterweight Lamont Peterson looks to 2009 as the year he advances from highly touted prospect to highly touted world contender. He took a big step forward with an impressive performance in the televised co-feature, a 7th round stoppage of previously unbeaten Willy Blain.
Peterson, who hails from Washington, D.C., came into the fight at the junior welterweight limit of 140 lb, the contracted amount since an interim alphabet title was at stake. Blain, a transplanted French southpaw fighting out of Hamburg, Germany, weighed in at 138.4 lb.
The fight was awkward as it was bizarre. A clash of heads temporarily halted action 30 seconds into the fight. It was the closest Blain would come all night to fighting on even terms, as Peterson piled up points round after round.
Despite his fighter remaining in a position of control, head trainer Barry Hunter still demanded more of Peterson throughout. The trainer wanted greater activity from Peterson, believing Blain to be the weaker fighter and that so much as working behind the jab will open up a world of opportunities.
Peterson didn’t immediately take to the advice, though began landing more telling blows in the third, including crushing body shots. More of the same but better came in the fourth round, though not always aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
A slow fifth round led to a smattering of boos early in the sixth. Peterson came out with the intention of converting the crowd, bouncing on his toes and firing one-twos. The tactic worked when Blain was stationary, but it was a different story whenever any movement was offered.
It almost became a moot point at rounds end, when Blain suddenly stopped fighting, flinching after throwing a jab and walking away holding his right hand in pain. Referee Roberto Ramirez called time to examine the injury, and initially stopped the fight. A stern protest by Blain was enough to cause the referee to reconsider his position, instead allowing the fight to go on after having the fighter examined briefly by the referee.
Blain didn’t take advantage of the second chance, not throwing any right hands, or anything meaningful with the left. Peterson kept on keeping on until Blain once again pulled away in pain. No more second chances were offered by the referee, who stopped the fight at 1:11 of round seven.
Peterson improves to 27-0 (13KO) with the win. It wasn’t the most thrilling, but proved to be effective, and certainly the first time in his career he scored two stoppages in one night. He is now in position to challenge for one of the two alphabet titles currently in possession of fellow unbeaten junior welterweight Timothy Bradley.
Blain suffers the first loss of his career, falling to 20-1 (3KO). The fight was Blain’s first outside of Europe, though his performance won’t warrant a return to American airwaves anytime soon.
The show was presented by Top Rank Inc and Puerto Rican Best Boxing.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at
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