The Destruction Continues: Lopez finishes Lyell in five

By Bart Barry (ringside)

TUCSON, Ariz. – When he’s put in the ring with a late replacement from Ohio, a top-rated contender in search of a tile shot needs to score a convincing knockout. That’s exactly what David “The Destroyer” Lopez did. It just took a little longer than expected.

Friday night at Desert Diamond Casino, Sonora’s Lopez (36-12, 23 KOs) fought through a competitive few opening rounds with Ohioan Billy Lyell (16-6, 3 KOs) before stopping him via a right hook at 2:10 of the fifth round.

Lopez started slow and ate an unfortunate number of straight rights throughout. But as game, and even competitive, as Lyell was early, Lopez’s superiority of class began to tell in Round 4. Then, Lopez established his jab, landed the heavier shots and made Lyell go backwards.

Then, Lyell had little chance.

Afterwards, Lopez attributed his slow start to both Lyell’s surprising strength, and his own overtraining.

“I was tired at the beginning, maybe from too much training,” Lopez said. “As the rounds went on, however, I got stronger.”

When asked about plans for the immediate future, Lopez conceded it’s been something of a frustrating year but said he was ready for any of the current three middleweight title holders, Kelly Pavlik, Arthur Abraham or Felix Sturm.

The topic turned to a possible title-eliminator bout with Marco Antonio Rubio, and Lopez spoke eagerly, saying, “Of course I will fight an eliminator with Rubio!”

JHONNY GONZALEZ VS. LEIVI BREA
In the night’s co-main event, former bantamweight world champion Jhonny Gonzalez (39-6, 33 KOs) found little resistance from Dominican Leivi Brea (16-7-3, 8 KOs), stopping him at 2:47 of Round 1.

Just as the fight was getting started Gonzalez pressed Brea to the ropes and cocked a left hook. Brea took the hint and hopped backwards. Gonzalez waited till Brea was settled and then fired the very punch he promised. Gonzalez’s left glove snuck in behind Brea’s right elbow and found the button. Brea went down and stayed there till referee Bobby Ferrara had reached the count of 10.

“I feel fine,” Gonzalez said in the ring after the fight. “I expected a fast knockout. I wanted to show Golden Boy that I am ready for a world championship.”

Then in the media room, Gonzalez made a point of talking about WBC super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez, who was seated at ringside.

“I would fight (Vazquez) next week if I could. Next time I’ll be at my natural weight.”

UNDERCARD
The night’s most surprising outcome saw undefeated Golden Boy prospect Yan Barthelemy (6-1) lose a unanimous decision to unheralded Coloradoan Ernie Marquez (7-4, 3 KOs) by scores of 56-57, 56-57 and 55-58.

From the opening bell, Barthelemy, a Cuban gold medalist, looked shabby. Progressing awkwardly from his southpaw stance, Barthelemy showed little evidence of an accomplished amateur career – exhibiting a general lack of technical proficiency. Twice he tangled his feet with Marquez’s and fell to the mat. And in the sixth round, Barthelemy was even penalized for excessive holding.

Golden Boy Promotions’ search for a prospect to develop from scratch continues.

The night’s opening bout saw Houston’s Hylon Williams (3-0, 1 KO) decision San Antonio’s Ramiro Torres (3-13-1, 2 KOs) by lopsided scores of 40-36, 40-36 and 40-36.

Friday’s most competitive scrap was a six-round welterweight match between two undefeated Californians, as Mauricio Herrera (5-0, 2 KOs) outboxed and outhit Daniel Cervantes (10-1-1), en route to a lopsided unanimous decision that went 60-54, 60-54, 59-55, all for Herrera.

Also in action were junior lightweight Texan Elezar Renteria (8-0, 5 KOs) and Arizona’s Baladan Treviso (5-13-7, 2 KOs). Renteria won their bout fairly easily by scores of 39-37, 39-37 and 40-36.

Finally, in heavyweight “action,” tentative counterpuncher Ashanti Jordan (5-0, 5 KOs) eventually stopped totally outclassed Ethan Cox (2-2, 1 KO) at 2:58 of Round 3.

Official attendance was announced at 1,650.