Patrick Lopez Outlasts the Bleeding Juaquin Gallardo

When a boxer answers every pre-fight question with “well, if the cut’s don’t open up” then you know the fight is going to be interesting and bloody. Such was the case in the ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights junior welterweight main event between Oakland native Juaquin Gallardo and Venezuelan Patrick Lopez. Gallardo was the aforementioned bleeder; he had had cuts open in four of his last six fights. His Scranton experience held to form.

After a clash of heads in the fifth a cut opened to the right of Gallardo’s nose. Despite the streaming blood Juaquin moved forward impervious to the streaming plasma. In the sixth Lopez’ skillful motion for allowed an easy assault on the one-dimensional forward moving Gallardo opening up a cut on the Californian’s left eye.

Their heads met again in the seventh causing more cuts on both fighter’s faces, one on Gallardo’s forehead and one on Lopez’ nose. By the end of this brawling round Gallardo’s face was fully red. and completely obscured. Early in the eighth Lopez tried to again assert in technical dominance and skillful boxing but by the round’s end the fight had descended into a wild action-filled scrap.

The fight’s best round was a rugged a ninth which brought applause from the crowd and led ESPN2 announcer Joe Tessitore to exclaim that “they came to fight tonight.” Video above.

The ninth, however, was much like the fight itself: gamely one-sided and clear evidence of Lopez’ dominance. Lopez scored a unanimous decision 98-92, 98-92, and 97-93.