Teofimo Lopez Gifted Win Over Ortiz! Davis & Mason Get KOs!
In what was meant to be a big night, WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez (20-1, 13 KO’s) was seemingly gifted a generous unanimous decision over Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz (17-2-1, 8 KO’s).
Over the twelve rounds, Ortiz was able to use his legs to maintain a favorable range, frustrate Lopez and dictate when the exchanges took place. At no point in the fight was there a time when The Takeover was able to control the action or even cut off the ring.
For his part, Lopez could only consistently muster up random potshots here and there. In fact, the most damage that The Takeover could produce resulted from a headbutt in the seventh round. While The Technician was certainly the ring general it must be said that his choice of tactics did get boring, especially over the second half of the duel.
Yet, with that being said however, over the course of the fight Ortiz was undeniably the ring general and more effective with what HE set out to do. Despite this, Lopez was miraculously named the winner to the tune of 117-111, 115-113 (twice). Following the announcement, Lopez cried in the ring, was booed by the crowd and provided a notably unhinged post-fight interview.
KEYSHAWN DAVIS STOPS JOSE PREDRAZA IN SIX!
In the co-main event evening, lightweight contender Keyshawn “The Businessman” Davis (10-0, 7 KO’s) collected the scalp of veteran Jose “The Sniper” Pedraza (29-6-1, 14 KO’s) by sixth round TKO.
In the opening rounds, Pedraza attempted to use his length and rough house tactics to nullify The Businessman’s greater hand speed and more accurate shots. For the first several rounds, the clinch friendly style did a fair job of jamming up Davis’ offense. This tide began changing in a big way during the third.
Here, Pedraza did nothing outside of eat and absorb a glossary of various punches. Despite the damage sustained, The Sniper remained active in the field until the sixth when a jab, straight right punch sequence dazed and froze him.
Seeing his foe was hurt, Davis buried Pedaza in an onslaught of head shots that forced ref Thomas Taylor to call stop the battering. While the #7 (IBF), #8 (WBO) and #9 (WBC) ranked fighter was the heavy favorite, this was still a great win for Davis.
ABDULLAH MASON DISMANTLES BENJAMIN GURMENT IN 2!
In his latest battle, lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason (12-0, 10 KO’s) collected another entertaining stoppage win. At the thrilling conclusion of this episode, Mason destroyed his previously undefeated opponent Benjamin Gurment (8-1-3, 5 KO’s) by way of second round knockout.
Following his typical modus operandi, Mason felt out his foe while inching forward behind an consistently abusive and accurate jab. The ill-tempered probing strike, along with sporadic mean spirited body shots, reddened Gurment’s face and began swelling his right eye by the end opening period.
At the top of the second, the talented southpaw began force feeding Gurment with an unhealthy amount of crisp straight lefts and hooks. Unprepared for this assault, Gurment was pummeled into the corner with a barrage of left hooks at roughly the halfway mark of the period.
As the ropes were the only thing that kept him up, referee Harvey Dock rightly administered a standing eight-count. The moment that the action resumed however, Mason cracked Gurment in the jaw with one last left hook of the night. Upon detonation on his face, Gurment’s legs buckled then completely failed like lawn chairs at a Klump family barbecue. Seeing the awkward and devastated way that he fell, referee Harvey Dock instantly called a halt to the bout. This was a fantastic way for the young gifted boxer to begin the year.
