By Arne K. Lang
Fighting in his hometown for the first time in nine years, Angelo Leo scored a dramatic one-punch knockout of defending IBF world featherweight champion Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez to become a two-time world title-holder. The end for “Venado” came early in the second minute of the 10th frame when Leo brought what had been a competitive fight to a sudden and shocking conclusion, nailing his Mexicali opponent with a left hook to the jaw. Lopez went down flat on his back. The referee tolled the 10-count which was superfluous as Lopez was out cold before he landed.
It was an unexpected “knockout of the year*-type performance from Leo (25-1, 12 KOs),the subject of a recent profile in these pages. The 30-year-old Albuquerque native who briefly held the WBO world title at super bantamweight, has a wealth of opportunities going forward in a division brimming with talent at the top.
A 9/2 favorite at post, Lopez (30-3) was making the fourth defense of the title he won with an upset of Josh Warrington in England and entered the match on a 13-fight winning streak. In his recent days he had expressed an interest in meeting Naoya Inoue down the road, but now it’s back to the drawing board.
Co-Feature
In a spirited super lightweight contest between two former members of the Mexican National Amateur Team, Lindolfo Delgado improved to 21-0 (15) with a 10-round split decision over Bryan Flores (26-1-1). The judges had it 96-92 and 96-93 for Delgado with the dissenter favoring Flores 96-92.
Delgado trains at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, but Garcia wasn’t there; he was in Las Vegas for Vergil Ortiz Jr. Delgado scored a flash knockdown in round three and received another 10-8 score in round seven when Flores was deducted a point for a low blow. The judges had it 96-92 and 96-93 for Delgado with the dissenter favoring Flores 96-92
Other Bouts
Ever-improving super welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr (19-1, 12 KOs) scored his 11th straight win at the expense of Laszlo Toth, taking out the 36-year-old Hungarian in the third round. A sweeping left hook knocked Toth to the canvas. He arose on spaghetti legs and his father/trainer jumped into the ring to prevent his son from taking another punch. His presence dictated a disqualification, perhaps denying Mielnicki a TKO.
It was the Top Rank debut for the 22-year-old Roseland, New Jersey, product who had been training in Houston under Ronnie Shields. Toth falls to 32-9-2.
Twenty-two year old featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, another Robert Garcia protege, served notice that he is a fighter to watch wuth a third-round stoppage of Damian Alcala. Gonzalez (10-0, 6 KOs) had Alcala (8-5) on the canvas twice before the referee waived the fight off at the 2:61 mark of round five. A former U.S. Marine residing in Tijuana, Alcala hadn’t previously been stopped,.
In an 8-round lightweight fight, 21-year-old Alan “Kid Kansas” Garcia, trained by Gloria Alvarado, scored a third-round stoppage of Miami-based Mexican southpaw Maickol Lopez. It was the 11th win by stoppage in 14 starts for Garcia and the fourth straight setback for Lopez (16-6). The official time was 2:34 of round three.
The first of the televised prelims was a 10-round contest between LA-based featherweights. Recent Top Rank signee Arnold Khegai, ranked #1 by the WBO, dominated and stopped Belmar Preciado whose corner stopped the one-sided match after the eighth round. Born in the Ukraine to Korean parents, Khegai improved to 22-1-1 (14). It was the fifth loss in the last six starts for Preciado (22-8-1), a 36-year-old Colombian.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
Fighting in his hometown for the first time in nine years, Angelo Leo scored a dramatic one-punch knockout of defending IBF world featherweight champion Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez to become a two-time world title-holder. The end for “Venado” came early in the second minute of the 10th frame when Leo brought what had been a competitive fight to a sudden and shocking conclusion, nailing his Mexicali opponent with a left hook to the jaw. Lopez went down flat on his back. The referee tolled the 10-count which was superfluous as Lopez was out cold before he landed.
It was an unexpected “knockout of the year*-type performance from Leo (25-1, 12 KOs),the subject of a recent profile in these pages. The 30-year-old Albuquerque native who briefly held the WBO world title at super bantamweight, has a wealth of opportunities going forward in a division brimming with talent at the top.
A 9/2 favorite at post, Lopez (30-3) was making the fourth defense of the title he won with an upset of Josh Warrington in England and entered the match on a 13-fight winning streak. In his recent days he had expressed an interest in meeting Naoya Inoue down the road, but now it’s back to the drawing board.
Co-Feature
In a spirited super lightweight contest between two former members of the Mexican National Amateur Team, Lindolfo Delgado improved to 21-0 (15) with a 10-round split decision over Bryan Flores (26-1-1). The judges had it 96-92 and 96-93 for Delgado with the dissenter favoring Flores 96-92.
Delgado trains at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, but Garcia wasn’t there; he was in Las Vegas for Vergil Ortiz Jr. Delgado scored a flash knockdown in round three and received another 10-8 score in round seven when Flores was deducted a point for a low blow. The judges had it 96-92 and 96-93 for Delgado with the dissenter favoring Flores 96-92
Other Bouts
Ever-improving super welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr (19-1, 12 KOs) scored his 11th straight win at the expense of Laszlo Toth, taking out the 36-year-old Hungarian in the third round. A sweeping left hook knocked Toth to the canvas. He arose on spaghetti legs and his father/trainer jumped into the ring to prevent his son from taking another punch. His presence dictated a disqualification, perhaps denying Mielnicki a TKO.
It was the Top Rank debut for the 22-year-old Roseland, New Jersey, product who had been training in Houston under Ronnie Shields. Toth falls to 32-9-2.
Twenty-two year old featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, another Robert Garcia protege, served notice that he is a fighter to watch wuth a third-round stoppage of Damian Alcala. Gonzalez (10-0, 6 KOs) had Alcala (8-5) on the canvas twice before the referee waived the fight off at the 2:61 mark of round five. A former U.S. Marine residing in Tijuana, Alcala hadn’t previously been stopped,.
In an 8-round lightweight fight, 21-year-old Alan “Kid Kansas” Garcia, trained by Gloria Alvarado, scored a third-round stoppage of Miami-based Mexican southpaw Maickol Lopez. It was the 11th win by stoppage in 14 starts for Garcia and the fourth straight setback for Lopez (16-6). The official time was 2:34 of round three.
The first of the televised prelims was a 10-round contest between LA-based featherweights. Recent Top Rank signee Arnold Khegai, ranked #1 by the WBO, dominated and stopped Belmar Preciado whose corner stopped the one-sided match after the eighth round. Born in the Ukraine to Korean parents, Khegai improved to 22-1-1 (14). It was the fifth loss in the last six starts for Preciado (22-8-1), a 36-year-old Colombian.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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