Mike Oliver vs. Reynaldo Lopez - May 7th - ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights

Full rundown. :good

Special guests included Jose Antonio Rivera, John Scully, Micky Ward, boxer-turned-UFC-contender Marcus Davis, and a handful of other NE fighters.

The first fight I had a shutout for Smith prior to the stoppage. Easy work. Torres actually came out with a decent looking jab for the first minute of the first round, then Smith took over with superior accuracy (and superior everything really) and boxed his ears off. He could have finished Torres in the second, especially after the KD, but looked very tentative, like he was respecting the power he thought Torres has (but doesn't). Torres brought a very soft body into the ring (again) and was already fighting with an open mouth by the third and final round. Guy's all heart and nothing else. Smith looked good...work in progress. Needs to be more confident and relaxed. Hell of a right hand when he throws it straight.

Next fight was a joke. Two very small lightweights, one of them (Velazquez) could barely keep his trunks up around his wiry little junkie frame. If Eklund was ANY good whatsoever he'd have stopped Velazquez, who just looked horribly confused and uncomfortable being in the ring. Jose Rivera must be part of his promotional or training team, as he was in the corner screaming instructions for the first two rounds, and shaking his head in disgust the next two. Can understand his frustration, as when Velazquez actually threw punches they didn't look half bad. But they were few and far between, mostly he just stood there shelling up and taking what sloppy, featherfisted Eklund threw at him...until they tied up. Which was often. Haven't seen that much wrestling in a lightweight boxing match before, I don't think. Boring 4 round shutout for Lowell's Eklund (one judge gave Velazquez a round..I guess probably the 4th, where both guys opened up a bit but Eklund landed more). Both garbage, and not even entertaining garbage. I give them only barely more props than the basic "willingness to lace up and step in the ring" props due guys like Zelenoff and Hartley, only because head to head I think awful as they are, Eklund and Velazquez both shred either of them. :yep

Next fight was high-octane stuff. I had made up my mind to root for Eddie Caminero before he stepped in the ring, as I recognized him from the men's room earlier that evening. See, there were five dudes in there, and FOUR did not wash their hands after touching their wee-wees. Caminero did the right thing. :good If the guy improves his balance and timing, he could be a beast at middleweight. He reminded me of a larger, far less refined and coordinated Cotto at times. Cut off the ring well, threw with murderous intent (though ofttimes too wide and telegraphed), and actually showed decent fundamentals when he listened to his corner (albeit sporadically) yelling at him to set up combinations off the jab. Adrick Butler was game enough, especially for his pro debut, showing little fear for the first two rounds despite getting hammered, but ultimately he was just steamrolled by the much stronger and more aggressive guy. Very good, exciting TKO. Got everyone good and pumped for the main event...

I had the fight even one round apiece before the stoppage. Lopez's physicality definitely bothered Oliver, who lost the 2nd clinching and performing horribly on the inside. Mike had definitely lost his 'groove' after the first, which while clearly won, I think was not the dominant opening round he was looking for. By the third you could spot a little panic, as even when he got more shots off in exchanges, his head was snapping back harder than Reynaldo's. The battle seemed to be heating up as they came pushing toward the ropes on my side of the ring, and I thought that a KD may be likely (though I wasn't sure for whom), but I did not expect what happened. At all. The KO punch was so fast I didn't even see it (and I was sitting two rows back...my gf watching at home said she spotted my buddy and I several times ) but MAN oh MAN was Oliver out. I was quite concerned while he was facedown, because there was not a twitch from the man for a good three seconds (which I think is how long it took before the ref even started the count). Still can't believe he beat that count (moot point though it was). Yeah, you could say Lopez bullied him. He just put in solid work and didn't get discouraged in the least by Oliver's edge in speed and polish. Don't know if they showed it on tv, but the guy FREAKED OUT when he won. On his knees crying then running around pumping his fist in the air. It was intense. Huge moment for him, beating a highly regarded undefeated prospect in a weight class he'd only been KO'ed himself in before. Happy ending, as far as I'm concerned.

The walkout fight was just that - lots of people ditched after the main event. :yep The loser, Luis Rosario - almost had a more appalingly emaciated physique than fellow lightweight Velazquez from earlier in the evening. And his output was possibly even lower. :yep I did like the work Frank Trader put in - slick movement, fast feet, handspeed, responsible defense (low left notwithstanding...he's one of those guys that's got the reflexes and athleticism to get away with it), coordination...you name it he's got it - except power. Not really a fan friendly style but very sweet if you appreciate technical displays (and I do...and I'd had my thirst for brutal stoppages slaked already by this point). By the fourth round it had become almost silly watching Rosario follow the guy around getting his face painted, but I stuck around to the reading of the cards to hear Trader's name (as I missed it during the intro's).

Good night at the fights. And the best part is, I didn't see or hear Atlas at all (he was probably on the other side of the ring).

 

Caught the ESPN replay early this morning.

I didn't even realize Ward was in Eklund's corner (or that he's his uncle). :yep The ESPN guys were being way too nice because of that, they should have been tearing the kid to shreds for that shameful performance.

Also, seeing Oliver whining about Molitor made re-viewing the KO (and actually spotting the finishing blow) much more satisfying.


Oh and tv doesn't do justice to the thudding nature of Caminero's shots - those things were loud.

 

I have to admit, a part of me wanted the undefeated prospect to live up to the hype to bring even more intrigue to an already intriguing weight class (as of last night, Lopez has pretty much seen the mountaintop at 122, IMO - good for him, but I'd hate to see him matched with any of the predators at the top). My buddy asked me right before the main event who I was pulling for, and I said that while Lopez (who I never thought was a pushover) would be a great Cinderella Man story, it would probably be better for the division if the undefeated prospect lived up to the hype and went on to big fights with the top guys. I also noted the caveat, however, that if someone like Oliver really doesn't have the substance, it's better that he's exposed at the hands of a deserving warrior like Lopez than waste the time of any top ten or titleholders who would just blow him out. That part was spot-on. The second tier elite like Ponce De Leon and Caballero wreck Oliver with ease, probably first round stoppage, nevermind guys like Vazquez and Marquez who would probably finish it within a minute.

 

My second ESPN event (first was the Contender season 3 finale). Always a good time. :good

 

Against Stevie Johnston, it looks like. Awesome! :thumbsup

 

A couple of times I was like "is that dude sues2nd from ESB?" even though I can only recall seeing maybe one pic of you (a really grainy one, holding a beer in your backyard or something I think) and the dude I was staring at just kept getting more and more pissed so eventually I moved away.