By Cliff Rold
26-year old Jr. Welterweight Tim Coleman (18-1-1, 5 KO) found his inner puncher in a big way of Friday night at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California, stopping WBA #10 Jr. Welterweight Patrick Lopez (20-3, 12 KO) in three spirited rounds. Coleman came into the bout just under the divisional limit of 140 lbs. at 139 ¾, Lopez tipping the scale at 139 even.
Coleman, from an orthodox stance, and Lopez, a southpaw, each began with their lead hand extended, measuring each other before trading body shots. Coleman, lunging, landed a right to the head of Lopez and then a glancing left but slipped to the canvas before he could continue to attack. Referee David Mendoza wiped his gloves and the action resumed, Coleman continuing to load up with his blows. Lopez slipped to the floor after a Coleman left, the trip not caused by the blow, and answered Coleman with a left inside before the bell.
Coleman’s bomb first strategy paid off just seconds into round two, a right hand sending Lopez to his rear. Lopez beat the count easily and stepped forward after the mandatory eight, Lopez shaking his head at being caught. With a minute to go, Lopez hammered to the body and followed with a right and left upstairs, altering the momentum and forcing Coleman backwards. Coleman weathered a storm of blows and worked off the ropes, landing a right just before the bell.
Round three was a donnybrook at jump, Coleman landing a wild right, eating a wild right that saw him nearly felled near the ropes, and both men winging without much leverage. They settled and fell into taking turns landing single hard shots, Coleman’s right seemingly never missing. It had been straight for much of the bout but he changed its direction and Lopez was in big trouble. Snapping an uppercut into a Lopez falling forward, Coleman turned his opponents head nearly around with just less than a minute to go, Lopez pitching face first towards the floor. Lopez struggled to his feet, banging his gloves as if to shake the cobwebs free from the rest of his body but to no avail. Rendered without balance, Lopez turned to walk to his corner and stumbled to his knees. Mendoza waved the action off at 2:13 of round three.
Lopez saw a five-fight winning streak abruptly halted with his first stoppage defeat. That it was Coleman who did the deed was surprising given his knockout numbers but he showed genuine change, planting and firing harder than in previous affairs. Coleman has now won four straight and can surely hope to improve on a number fifteen rating in the IBF Jr. Welterweight ranks. Coleman is trained by former Jr. Lightweight and Jr. Welterweight champion Roger Mayweather, the uncle of current lineal Welterweight king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Coleman’s was not the only impressive knockout on the night.
Despite not having fought since January, 22-year old Lightweight Archie Ray Marquez (11-0, 8 KO), 133, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, showed little rust in dispatching 25-year old Juan Santiago (13-5-1, 8 KO), 133, of Denver, Colorado in three rounds.
Santiago, two inches taller at 5’10, landed a hard right hand early in the first round to get the Marquez’s attention and another little more than a minute in. Santiago added a belting lead left hook before Marquez responded with a hard right in the middle of the round. Marquez backed Santiago up with a pair of stinging rights in the final thirty seconds, punctuating with a left before the bell.
In the second, a right and left from Santiago put Marquez on defensive alert and a low blow from Marquez moments later sent Santiago to his knees. Referee Ray Corona took a point and Marquez opened up with both hands as actions resumed, his fists saying he wanted his point back. Santiago did not wane, firing back with straight rights and lefts and putting Marquez into a countering posture. It worked for Marquez, a short shot buzzing Santiago in the final seconds and driving him to the ropes. Marquez exploded with a flurry of leather, dropping Santiago with a right, ten seconds remaining in round two.
Santiago beat the count and made his way to the corner to recover. Immediately into round three, it appeared sixty seconds on the stool was not enough. Marquez blasted the face of Santiago with a right and backed him into the ropes again. Marquez emptied both barrels, Santiago trying to cover up but finding his head whipping back and forth. Corona made the only call he could, stepping in to stop the action at :11 seconds of the third.
It was the third stoppage loss for Santiago and third defeat in five outings. For Marquez, it was the latest affirmation of the promise many in boxing see for the young Lightweight who now will look to increase his activity.
The card was televised in the U.S. on Showtime as part of its “ShoBox” series, promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
