Ricardo Lopez picked up his third straight, climbing off the canvas to stop an injured Noe Medina in nine rounds Friday evening in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
The threat of an upset surfaced early on, when Medina scored a knockdown in round two. It turned out to be the highlight of an otherwise forgettable night for the Mexico City native, who was forced to fight through a badly injured left hand.
Perez shook off the blow and managed to permanently shift momentum in his favor, to the point of Medina's corner looking to stop the fight. They were talked out of the decision by their fighter after the eighth round, but ultimately threw in the towel in round nine after the boxer was taking unnecessary punishment and unable to properly defend himself.
The official time was 1:01 of round nine.
Perez advances to 9-2 (8KOs) with the win, while Medina falls to 5-4 (1KOs).
A local favorite who was born and raised in Cancun, Perez also managed to defend what the WBC refers to as its "silver" junior flyweight belt. It's not a real championship, but rather a placeholder for a fighter to eventually parlay into a crack at a major title.
Of course, that would mean the 24-year old Perez—with all of 11 fights and three years worth of pro experience—being steered towards a dangerous showdown with current junior flyweight champ Pedro Guevara. It says here that far more seasoning is required before he is ready (if ever) for such a leap in competition.
In the co-feature, Edgar Jimenez pulled off a major upset with a 10-round majority win over previously unbeaten Ivan Morales. Scores were 95-95 even and 97-93 (twice) in favor of Jimenez.
Morales (28-1, 16KOs) was being groomed for a major title shot in the near future, in hopes of his family becoming the second set of three boxing brothers in history to have won major titles at some point in their careers. The Kameda brothers—Koki, Daiki and Tomoki—accomplished the feat in 2013 when Tomoki became the last family member to win a title, adding to the record by also simultaneously reigning as champs when Daiki reclaimed a belt one month later.
There's still time for Morales to join older brothers Diego and future Hall of Famer, the legendary Erik Morales in the championship circle. However, it wasn't to be on this night as the 23-year old from Tijuana ran into a buzzsaw in Jimenez, fighting his fifth straight fight in the Mexico state of Quintana Roo.
A future title shot for the journeyman from Mexico City is unlikely for the near future. That said, Jimenez is now unbeaten in his past three starts as he advances to 20-11-2 (14KOs).
Also on the show, lightweight contender Sharif Bogere was forced to settle for a two-round no-contest after literally running Daniel Ruiz out of the ring. Bogere was seeking his fifth straight win following a tightly contested points loss to Richar Abril in their March '13 lightweight title fight. Instead, the Las Vegas-based Ugandan remains stuck at 27-1 (19KOs).
All bouts aired live on ESPN Deportes.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Facebook Page:
JakeBScene
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (2)