Solo Boxeo: Leo Santa Cruz vs. Jose Lopez & Luis Ramos Jr vs. Francisco Lorenzo RBR

By the way, text message poll results are in:

69% think Leo Santa Cruz (brother of Jose Armando) is more macho.

31% think the aging quasi-legend Carita Lopez is more macho.

 

Round 2

Santa Cruz is dishing out extreme punishment here. Hard jabs, hard right hands, and hard uppercuts are all knocking back the head of the game and willing but much slower Lopez. Santa Cruz is just faster, sharper, able to always anticipate Lopez and be first, and hits a bit harder (and Carita hits pretty damn hard himself). Lopez is leading with left hooks but having them swatted away like they were nothing, before Santa Cruz sets his feet and starts tooling him with jabs and uppercuts. Lopez is rocked against the ropes a couple of times but keeps coming back, bravely trying to rally and throwing his own heavy hands with bad intentions.

20-18 Santa Cruz

 

Round 3

Santa Cruz jabs out hard. Santa Cruz comes forward, gets inside and plants a right uppercut to the ribs. Lopez circles away and throws a hard 1-2 out of desperation to keep Santa Cruz off of him. Santa Cruz just blocks it and then drops a whole flurry of damage on his face. Lopez isn't doing badly, mind you - just in case the descriptions are giving that impression. He is a bit past it and a touch slow with age, but he's actually fighting very well. This young beast is just absolutely brutalizing him, and doing it in very methodical and technical fashion. Hard right hand by Santa Cruz, sends Lopez reeling. Uppercut to the body. Lopez throws four hard shots, all blocked. Santa Cruz is content to "turn off" his offense and shell up when Lopez is willing himself forward with loads of hard tossing, letting Lopez punch himself out a bit and then opening back up. Lopez has his persistence pay some small dividends as he lands a couple of hard right hands but he's getting absolutely mashed any time Santa Cruz starts letting his hands go.

30-27

 

Round 4

HARD right hand and left hook combo by Lopez, giving it all he's got. Santa Cruz is able to jerk his elbows out just in time to knock them aside and continues to pommel Lopez up close. Santa Cruz leans in with his forearm digging into Lopez's ribs. Lopez throws several body shots, losing a bit of steam but putting in as much effort as he physically can. NASTY sequence, Santa Cruz landing about 7-8 hard straight shots to the face as Lopez is rocked back on his heels. Lopez again tries to mount a brief flurry but is getting overwhelmed by the strength, power and accuracy of Santa Cruz. HARD right hand by Santa Cruz. Lopez ties up. Lopez flicks a jab. Santa Cruz backs away, and easily dodges a wild overhand right. Leaping left hook by Lopez, sidestepped. Three punch straight combo to the face by Santa Cruz! Another, nearly folds Lopez's neck completely back so the top of his head touches his upper spine. Santa Cruz is putting on a punching clinic here.


Lopez is a ****ing WARRIOR!

 

Text message poll update:

71% Santa Cruz

29% Lopez

:yep

 

Round 5

Lopez is eating hard jabs and trying to just power his way through with a right hand in spite of them. Santa Cruz sees his intent, and nips that in the bud by cracking him with his own quick right hand. Lopez circles left and jabs to the body a bit. Lopez looks like he's trying to formulate a plan B on the fly. Hard right staggers Lopez. Santa Cruz is just sharp shooting. Lopez leans against the ropes as he stumbles backward into them after taking a right. Santa Cruz is turning his skinny frame in, facing off to Lopez's left and letting the attempted 1-2 of Lopez bounce off his bicep and chest before twisting around in a snapping motion with his own straight shots. HARD STUFF POURING DOWN ON LOPEZ!!! ON THE ROPES!! SANTA CRUZ IS DESTROYING HIM!!! PUSHES HIM ACROSS THE RING!! TO A KNEE!!!

OVER!!!

 

Jose Lopez has NEVER been stopped before.

He's been in with big punchers, too - sporadically throughout his career and even very recently. He went 12 with a prime Montiel.

Santa Cruz has now raised his KO ratio to a mere 50% (8 in 16 wins) - but don't let that fool you. The kid is a monster.