With a potential title shot on the line, Adam Lopez and Roman Reynoso fought to a 10-round draw in the main event of the 15-year anniversary telecast of ShoBox: The New Generation Friday on SHOWTIME® from Foxwoods Resort Casino.
In attendance ringside before the fight, newly crowned IBF Junior Featherweight World Champion Jonathan Guzman (22-0, 22 KOs) announced that he’d like fight the winner of Lopez-Reynoso, raising the stakes for this matchup of 122-pound prospects. While the fight was close and entertaining, analyst Steve Farhood, who has called all 219 ShoBox telecasts, didn’t believe either fighter did enough to earn an immediate title shot against Guzman.
The fight looked like a toss-up heading into the 10th – with Lopez leading by just one connect after nine rounds – and the Ronnie Shields pupil came up with a huge final round rally. The undefeated prospect hurt Reynoso (18-1-2, 7 KOs) in the final seconds with a flurry of shots, forcing the Argentine spit out his mouthpiece to buy himself nearly 30 seconds of rest. Seemingly out on his feet, Reynoso somehow survived the onslaught without falling to the canvas before the final bell. Lopez (15-0-1, 7 KOs) out-landed Reynoso 34-21 overall and 34-20 in power shots in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to earn him the victory.
Judge Don Ackerman saw Lopez a 96-94 winner, while Bill Morande had it 97-93 Reynoso, and Peter Hary cast the deciding ballot at 95-95. All three judges scored the last round 10-9 for Lopez. Had Reynoso fell to the canvas in the final seconds, the 10-8 round would have given Lopez the win.
“It was a tough fight. He didn’t want to engage,” said Lopez, who out-landed Reynoso 158-144 overall and 131-125 in power shots. “He’s slick and experienced and a good fighter. I feel that this was my best performance on ShoBox. I have been working on new things with Ronnie Shields and it showed in there. I know I hurt him in the last round.
“The decision was bullshit. He could not hit me.”
“It was a close fight, but I feel I won,” Reynoso said. “He never hurt me. The only thing that surprised me is that he was more aggressive than in other fights. I hurt my hand from hitting him.”
Late replacement Jerry Odom knocked out previously once-beaten Julius Jackson with a vicious third round knockout (1:57) in the ShoBox co-feature.
Jackson (19-2, 15 KOs), the son of former two-division world champion Julian “The Hawk” Jackson, was outworking Odom through two rounds, who took the fight 10-days notice after Ronaldo Ellis suffered a hand injury. That was until Washington, D.C.’s Odom (14-2-1, 13 KOs) clocked Jackson with a flush right counter shot with one minute left in the third, spelling the end for Jackson, who couldn’t beat the count and suffered his second consecutive knockout loss.
“I saw the right hand. I was throwing combinations and I saw the opening and landed a good shot,” Odom said. “As opposed to the last couple fights, I am in a great place physically, mentally and spiritually. I have a great team around me. We are unbreakable.”
“He threw the punch at the right time and caught me,” Jackson said. “I was OK, but the referee stopped the fight. I felt up until that point, I was boxing well and winning every round.”
Rolando Chinea won a close, eight-round split decision victory over O’Shaquie Foster (10-2, 7 KOs) in a matchup of lightweights, scored 79-73 (Chinea), 77-75 (Foster) and 78-74 (Chinea).
Chinea (13-1-1, 6 KOs) was the aggressor, dictating the tempo of the fight from the outset. And while most rounds were extremely close – closer than the relatively wide scorecards – Chinea’s activity was the difference. Chinea threw 733 total punches, compared to 641 for Foster, and he edged Foster by nearly 150 power punches (592-449).
“He is a hell of a fighter and it was fun to fight him,” said Chinea, who was largely able to minimize the jab, Foster’s best weapon. “Like I said before the fight, he could not take pressure. I brought the pressure. I blocked and slipped a lot of his punches. My will and desire to win outweighed his will to punch.
“He did not take my pressure well. I worked my shots well inside and that was a difference in the fight.”
Foster, who’s record fell to 10-2 with 7 KOs, complained that he “had distractions and couldn’t focus.”
In the opening bout of the telecast, Ian Green handed previously undefeated super welterweight prospect Khiary Gray the first loss of his career with a stunning second round TKO (2:50).
With former world champion and fellow Paterson, N.J., Kendall Holt in his corner, Green (10-1, 8 KOs) came from behind to floor Gray with a big right cross to the chin that sent him tumbling face-forward into the canvas. Gray, a local favorite from nearby Worchester, Mass., tried to hold on with just 30 seconds left in the round, but he couldn’t make it to the break and was falling backward into the ropes when the referee halted the contest.
“I got him good, and I got him out of there,” said Green, who out-landed Gray 14-0 in the final minute. “He got me good one time, but I kept my left hand up and hung in there. We’re going all the way up. This is just the start.”
Gray (13-1, 10 KOs), who was seemingly in control of the fight and rocking Green with ease, became the 151st fighter to suffer his initial defeat on the prospect developmental series.
“He just caught me,” Gray said. “I don’t even know what punch it was. I didn’t even see it. I tried to hold on and waste some time, but I got caught again. I just need to get back to the gym and fix my mistakes. I’ll bounce back.”
Friday’s four-fight telecast will re-air this Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME.
Barry Tompkins called the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer was Gordon Hall with Rich Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
The event was promoted by GH3 Promotions in association with Classic Entertainment & Sports Inc. (CES) and Sampson Boxing.
Weights: Adam Lopez 121, Roman Reynoso 121
All eight fighters participating in the milestone ShoBox: The New Generation 15-year anniversary telecast weighed-in on Thursday at Foxwoods Resort Casino ahead of tomorrow’s quadrupleheader, live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT. In the main event, undefeated top 10-ranked super bantamweight Adam Lopez (15-0, 7 KOs) faces Roman Reynoso (18-1-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round super bantamweight bout. While Lopez is a fast-rising undefeated prospect, Reynoso’s only loss came in just his fourth professional fight to undefeated fellow-Argentine Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda, who fights Oscar Valdez for the vacant WBO Featherweight Championship this Saturday.
In the eight-round co-feature, hard-hitting Jerry Odom (13-2-1, 12 KOs) takes on Julius Jackson (19-1, 15 KOs) in a key matchup of super middleweights.
Once-beaten lightweights O’Shaquie Foster (10-1, 7 KOs) and Rolando Chinea (12-1-1, 6 KOs) clash in an eight-round bout, while undefeated Khiary Gray (13-0, 10 KOs) will be opposed by once-beaten Ian Green (9-1, 7 KOs) in the eight-round super welterweight opener.
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by GH3 Promotions in association with Classic Entertainment & Sports Inc. (CES) and Sampson Boxing, are priced at $45, $75 and $150 and can be purchased by phone from the Foxwoods Resort Casino at 800.200.2882 or online at www.foxwoods.com.
OFFICIAL WEIGHTS:
10-Round Super Bantamweight Bout
ADAM LOPEZ: 121 Pounds
ROMAN REYNOSO: 121 Pounds
Eight-Round Super Middleweight Bout
JERRY ODOM: 168 Pounds
JULIUS JACKSON: 168 Pounds
Eight-Round Lightweight Bout
O’SHAQUIE FOSTER: 134 Pounds
ROLANDO CHINEA: 134 Pounds
Eight-Round Super Welterweight Bout
KHIARY GRAY: 155 Pounds
IAN GREEN: 157 Pounds
FINAL QUOTES:
ADAM LOPEZ:
“I’ve experienced and grown a lot over my last few fights. I’ve learned a lot about myself and overcame adversity. All my fights on ShoBox have been tough, but I’m hoping for a breakthrough victory on Friday to prove I’m ready to face a contender.
“Reynoso is a tough fighter. We know he swings for the fences. Because he’s from Argentina, a lot of people call him a little Marcos Maidana. He’s probably the toughest opponent so far, but we’re ready for whatever he brings.
“I’m back to training with Ronnie Shields. I was with Ronnie for my first five fights and it’s good to be back. Ronnie is working on my jab and helping improve my basic fundamentals.
“I want to win and look good doing it. If I get the KO, that’s great, but I’m not going to look for it. I don’t want to be on the canvas looking for it.
“We want to show that we’re ready for bigger and better fights. But we know we can’t look past this guy.”
ROMAN REYNOSO:
“This is the biggest fight of my career. Everything is motivating for me. I want the best for my family, and winning a fight like this can help me get there.
“We moved up to Montreal for training camp and we’ve improved a lot. We’ve developed defense and a better boxing style. We used to be about just coming forward and punching, but we’re working on our movement, our boxing skills.
“We are coming here to exploit Adam Lopez. We’re here to upset him.
“I know he has a big left hook, but we’re going to take that away. We know he has a height and reach advantage, but we like to fight wars. If he wants a war, we’re prepared. If he wants to run, we’re prepared. We’ll see if he will be able to figure out how to beat me.
“I’m used to being the shorter fighter. It doesn’t bother me.
“I look up to (Marcos) Maidana, but he has his own style. I don’t try to mimic that.
“This is my first time moving down to 122 pounds. In Argentina, it was hard to get fights at 122 – most of my fights were at 126 – but fighting at 122 is more natural for me. This is what we were looking for.
On Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda, who fights Oscar Valdez for the WBO Featherweight Championship on Saturday:
“That’s the only boxer who has beaten me. We wish him the best. We were looking for the rematch, but it didn’t happen. In the future, it needs to happen.”
JERRY ODOM:
“I’ve been training all summer. Opportunities come and go. I was taught that when a window opens you have to jump in. That’s why we took this fight.
“We’re not thinking about his (Jackson’s) last fight. That isn’t going to dictate our game plan. We know the opportunities to knock him out are there, but we need to worry about our game plan.
“I’ve watched tape on him. He still has the same posture, he has no finesse. He’s a straight up type of fighter. Nothing we can’t handle.
“Records don’t mean anything. You look at my record and see I have two losses. That doesn’t mean anything, doesn’t define me. He better not be overlooking me because I have two losses. That would be a big mistake.”
JULIUS JACKSON:
“The loss made me hungrier. I just got hurt. He hit me and I just couldn’t recover.
“My team is confident I’m still a high-level fighter. We don’t just want opponents. We want guys that will test us.
“The change in opponents doesn’t affect us. We’re just trying to perfect ‘The Chef.’ We want to get in there and do what it takes to win.
“There’s definitely pressure. We know if I lose tomorrow it will set me back even more. But we’re not thinking about that. We’re coming to win. This is an opportunity to erase my loss.
“Odom comes to fight. That’s what makes this an exciting fight. We’re both coming to fight.”
O’SHAQUIE FOSTER:
“Chinea is a one-punch puncher. He’s suitable to my style. We like the pressure he brings. We can break him down, break his will.
“I’m supposed to be here. The loss in my first fight on ShoBox was a fluke. I showed in my last ShoBox fight that I belong here.
“I don’t see anyone at lightweight that can beat me. I’m only 22, but at this point next year we want to be considered a contender for a title shot.”
ROLANDO CHINEA:
“I’ve studied tape on him. He’s an accomplished fighter. But I know he doesn’t like pressure, and my style revolves around pressure. So he’s a tailor-made fighter for me.
“We’re going to do what we do best: apply pressure.
“This is my TV debut and I’m ready to make a statement. This is an opportunity that I need to take advantage of.
“We’ve done everything we can in the gym. We’re been sparring with top fighters in Philadelphia. We’re ready to go.”
KHIARY GRAY:
“I’m more of a boxer than a KO guy. I have a lot of knockouts, but that’s not what I’m always looking for. I consider myself more of a boxer.
“I’ve always had late replacements in my fights, so that doesn’t give us a problem. I’ve seen clips of him, and we’re ready for him.
“Going 10 rounds was a good experience for me. It taught me that my conditioning was there. That I can go the distance if I need to.
“I switch to lefty when I have to. I can fight the whole fight lefty if I need to.
“I sparred with Edwin (Rodriguez) recently, sparred with Demetrius Andrade. It’s good work with those guys. I can hold my own in the gym with them.
“There’s pressure fighting on TV, but I feel comfortable. People are going to know me after this. They’ll know that I’m ready to be a contender in the 154-pound division.”
IAN GREEN:
“I’ve been in the gym since April. I was supposed to fight on July 30, but this was a better opportunity and I jumped on it.
“We have Kendall Holt in our corner, and we hope to be the next fighter from Paterson to win a title.
“Gray is an aggressive guy, but my range and height is an advantage. I don’t think he’s faced anyone like me. He’s been touched a few times.
“Once you see me tomorrow, you’ll see the real Ian Green.”
Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez will serve as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Rich Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
