In the final LA FIGHT CLUB of 2016, Abraham “Chamaco” Lopez (22-0-1, 15 KOs) defended his NABA Featherweight title against Sergio “Micky” Lopez (20-13-1, 13 KOs). The bout was a tough one, with “El Chamaco” emerging with a unanimous decision victory that kept his undefeated record intact.
“He was definitely a warrior,” said Abraham Lopez. “I definitely thought that there was moments throughout the fight that he was going to go down, but it goes to show how tough he was. I definitely think that it was my night tonight.”
(Photo credit: Golden Boy Promotions/PoundForPound Boxing)
“Who won here was the fans,” said Sergio Lopez. “Every time the crowd screamed with emotion, I took pride because I was the one putting on the show. I am proud of the work we did tonight, and it felt like a war in the ring.”
VIP Guests of the night included Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya, Former two-Time Light Middleweight World Champion Fernando”El Feroz” Vargas, WBC Diamond, WBA & Ring Magazine Lightweight World Champion Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares, NABA Super Featherweight Champion Carlos “The Solution” Morales, Jesus “Renuente” Soto Karass, Jason”El Animal”Quigley, Charles Huerta, Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez and Joet Gonzalez.
In the co-main event — a scheduled eight round bantamweight battle — rising Columbian prospect and LA FIGHT CLUB veteran Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (15-0, 6 KOs) faced experienced opponent Raul Hidalgo (25-15, 19 KOs) of Nuevas Casas Grandes, Mexico. The battle of the bantamweights made it until 2:49 in the fourth round, when the referee stopped the fight, giving the technical knock out victory to “El Jaguar”.
“The game plan is to win,” said Oscar Negrete. “When you face an experienced fighter like him, you know you are going to encounter some dirty tricks. However, I remembered my training – to keep my distance, to place pressure, and to attack in a manner that would break him down slowly. That was what won this fight.”
Opening up the Boxeo Estelar broadcast Edgar “Kid Neza” Valerio (9-0, 5 KOs) gave one of his most complete performances to date, dominating in a six-round featherweight combat against the resilient Guadalupe De Leon (9-15, 5 KOs) of Welasco, Texas. Valerio was able to make De Leon fall in the third round after a left hook to the head, which turned into a cut over De Leon’s right eye by the fifth round due to Valerio’s powerful punches. By the sixth round, following a series of combinations, the referee stopped the fight, awarding the technical knockout to Valerio.
“I was in the ring with a more experienced fighter, and yet I was able to get the win for being the smarter man,” said Edgar Valerio. “We didn’t get much chance to study him as a fighter, but just looking at his past fights and how calm he was in the ring made us switch up the game plan. All in all, I’m thankful to God, my team, and Joel De La Hoya Management for the opportunity.”
Rounding out the RING TV portion of the night, in a scheduled four round light heavy weight fight, Niko “Baby Face” Valdez (3-0, 3 KOs) made quick work of Gainesville, Florida’s Will “Bad News” Williams (0-3). The bout only lasted the first minute of the first round, with Valdez landing two consecutive hooks to the body and head that caused Williams to hit the mat.
“The stoppage was going to happen, it was only a matter of when,” spoke Niko Valdez. “I was expecting my opponent to be on the weaker side since he had trouble making weight, and all I had to do was use my skills to know when to attack and put him against the ropes.”
Jousce Gonzalez (3-0, 3 KOs) of Glendora, CA was able to get the early stoppage of El Paso, Texas’ Jordan Alvarado (0-2) within the first round of the scheduled four-round super featherweight bout. Gonzalez knocked Alvarado down twice in the fight, the first with a left hand to the temple, the following with a left punch to the body that forced Alvarado to his knee.
“I’m overjoyed by the result, and this sets the tone for my career” said Jousce Gonzalez. “But this is only the beginning. I have a long road ahead of me, and I can’t wait to hit the gym to train hard.”
Francisco “Alacran” Esparza (5-0, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada tore through Gerardo Molina (1-3, 1 KO) of Saucillo, Mexico, stopping Molina in round two of the scheduled four-round featherweight bout. Esparza, trained by former two-time super welterweight world champion Fernando Vargas, broke down his opponent with a powerful right hand body punch, causing the referee stop the fight at 2:59 in the second round.
“When a former world champion is your trainer, you get results like these,” spoke Francisco Esparza. “Vargas pushes the best out of me, in and out of the ring. I knew I just had to be patient in the ring. When I landed that right hand, and I saw that I hurt him, and my intuition told me to unleash on him.”
Opening the night and a part of the Ring TV livestream, Philadelphia’s Todd Unthank-May (10-0, 4 KOs) defeated Daniel Najera (5-1, 1 KO) of Nuevo Leon, Mexico in the first round, adding another knock out to his unblemished record.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get a knock out,” spoke Todd Unthank-May of his knock out. “I knew if I was patient, I would be able to get the result that I wanted, I just had to break him down. I’m excited to maintain this momentum through 2017.”
Abraham Lopez vs Sergio Lopez was presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by “Tecate, BORN BOLD,” and Casa Mexico Tequila.
