In a Fight of the Year candidate, undefeated Juan Manuel Lopez retained his WBO featherweight title with an eighth round TKO of Rafael Marquez in Las Vegas. Juanma was the stronger of the two but the skill of Marquez, not to mention his incredible chin, allowed him to remain competitive throughout. There were no knockdowns, but Marquez came close to scoring one when he staggered Lopez in round four. Lopez began taking control in rounds six, seven and eight, but Marquez kept firing back. At the end of round eight, Marquez complained of an injury to his right shoulder and elected not to continue. After the fight, Marquez claimed to have been hurt coming into the fight but said he did not want to postpone the bout.
In the co-feature, 41-year-old Glen Johnson knocked out Allan Green in round eight to advance to the semi-final of Showtime's Super Six Super Middleweight tournament. Johnson was fortunate to score the KO before the judges could screw him out of yet another close decision. He was behind on two of the three official scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
Elsewhere, former champ Zab Judah won a controversial 12 round split decision over previously undefeated Lucas Matthysse in Newark, NJ. Judah, hoping to resurrect his career, appeared to be in great condition but was unimpressive throughout. He did, however, show great heart in surviving until the final bell after being dropped in round ten and punished in rounds eleven and twelve. The scores were 114-113, 114-113 for Judah and 114-113 for Matthysse.
On the same card, Robert Guerrero won a lopsided ten round unanimous decision over Vicente Escobedo by scores of 100-88, 98-90 and 96-92. After the fight, Escobedo proposed to his girlfriend in the ring ... she said yes.
Comments
Zab did not win that fight.
These were some very exciting and entertaining fights. One cannot but be impressed by Juan Manuel Lopez despite some early errors. I think the “injury” Marguez sustained was a graceful way for him to avoid a very bad battering. Glen Johnson simply outclassed Green. He is perhaps the most dedicated and determined fighter of the decade. Not only does he drop in weight, but the energy and will of this 41-year-old fighter can only bring admiration–je must be destined for the Hall of Fame. It will be very, very interesting to see what happens in his next fight.
I have alsways liked Zan Judah, but for some reason, he has lost the promise of his earlier career. In my estimation he lost the fight despite what the judges reported. I am not certain if Judah can any longer fight at the highest competitive levels.