Image details: Juan Manuel Lopez v Juan Brea served by picapp.com

If you stayed with the end of Showtime’s Sergio Mora victory over Vernon Forrest then you probably missed HBO’s opening bout. Heck, if you blinked you might have missed Juan Manual Lopez’ declarative first round TKO and WBO super bantamweight-grabbing win over Daniel Ponce de Leon.

The 24-year-old Puerto Rican destroyed the 27-year-old Mexican first dropping him with a straight left halfway through round one. Ponce de Leon got up but was out on feet an Lopez pounced. He stalked Ponce de Leon around the ring finally cornering him at the 50 second mark. At this point he wailed hook after hook flattening his opponent again. The Mexican was unable to gather and the ref mercifully stepped in and ended the beating.

HBO announcer Max Kellerman asserted that “a star is born.” It’s hard to argue with that statement especially after Lopez’ confident and personality-filled post-match interview. Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez now have an exciting prospective Puerto Rican dancing partner. Kellerman asked him if he’s ready for those two luminaries to which Lopez smilingly responded, “If the fight today didn’t demonstrate it, then what do I have to do?”

Post from: EveryJoe

Juan Manuel Lopez Wins With An Assertive First Round KO

One after the next The Contenders have come and gone. Unimpressive, overhyped and out of their league. Until tonight. In a startling but well-deserved victory Sergio Mora outworked Ring Magazine’s #1 junior middleweight and WBC super welterweight champ Vernon Forrest to earn a majority decision win.

Few gave Mora a chance. Conventional wisdom said he was a club fighter who got a chance against the two-time Shane Mosley slayer not because of skill but because of his marketability. For the first three rounds this standard line of thinking seemed accurate. But in the fourth Mora landed some punches, found his groove, caught some momentum, gained some confidence, and slowly began to assert his dominance.

Mora’s and the fight’s signature round came in a wild action-filled ninth when Sergio cornered Forrest and landed a barrage of punches. The last one minute of this round was Mora’s emphatic announcement to the boxing world: “I am here and I am the better boxer tonight!”

The fight was not only expectedly close but also a surprisingly entertaining brawl that garnered a fair amount of drama. Both fighters risked point deductions with dirty techniques – Forrest with low blows and Mora with rabbit punches – but the judge fairly let them go.

This fight was the real life Rocky story that The Contender producers always dreamed the reality show could produce. After the fight Mora candidly admitted, “If The Contender had another loser they weren’t going to give us another chance.”He fought as if this fight was his last opportunity and he won over the Mohegan Sun fans who chanted his name as well as boxing fans watching at home.

No one enjoyed this fight more than Paul Williams. Not only did he score a first round knockout in Showtime’s first fight but his February loss to Carlos Quintana is no longer the front runner for upset of the year. That would be Mora’s victory tonight.

Photo Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Contender Champ Defeats Vernon Forrest

After his unexpected loss Williams immediately exercised his rematch clause setting up this Saturday’s Mohegan Sun Showtime Boxing fight, the undercard bout to the less intriguing Vernon Forrest vs. Sergio Mora scrap. Quintana comes into the fight 25-1-0 with his only blemish administered by Miguel Cotto. He is Ring Magazine’s #3 ranked welterweight. Williams is 33-1 and Ring’s #4.

Paul Williams remains the Las Vegas favorite for this fight, only his winning odds have been lowered to 5 to 2. It’s not just Vegas that still has faith in Williams. Everlast Boxing recently signed Williams to a long-term deal to exclusively wear their footwear, apparel, and professional fight gloves. A lot of people want to believe February was an aberration and that after his first loss Williams will get serious again and stop believing his own hype.

I’ll admit, it’s hard not to like and root for Williams. His freakish welterweight height combined with his punch frequency make him terrific viewing and give him an aura of scary unstoppability. His narrow cleanly cropped mohawk during the Quintana fight made him appear to be from another planet. In contrast Carlos was steady, workmanlike, and smart with little of Paul’s flair. Will he be able to solve Williams’ extraterrestial powers again?

Despite the Vegas odds, most boxing pundits seem to think so. In their respective fight previews both SC from Bad Left Hook and the Fight Writer Graham Houston think Quintana will prevail. They use the same “styles make fights” logic and believe that the smaller man has the ex-champ’s number. Tim from Ring Report also sides with Quintana believing that Williams’ drastic weight loss has taken a toll on his unnaturally gawky frame.

I’m going for Paul Williams because he’s far more interesting and because I want him to win. Simple as that. If you want detailed analysis and logical reasoning click on the above links because you’re not going to get it here. I’m siding with pop psychology. I think Williams pride was severely stung by the February loss when he took Quintana lightly. He’s going to roar back, prove his physical dominance, and avenge his loss. Maybe even after the win he’ll finally get his shot at Mosley, Mayweather, and Cotto.

Photo Source: Newscom.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Williams vs. Quintana II: Still Very Intriguing