411's Ringside Report: Lopez vs. Lontchi
Posted by Patrick Cassidy on 06.28.2009
Juan Manuel Lopez Dominates Olivier Lontchi. Plus other results from Atlantic City.
Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank
The JuanMa Train kept rolling along in Atlantic City in front of a crowd of over 2000 in the Ballroom at the Boardwalk Hall. Olivier Lontchiistarted the night on a sour note failing to deliver on his promise to moonwalk into the ring.
Perhaps, it was karma then that he was dominated by Lopez from bell to bell on his way to a ninth round stoppage. Lopez's aggression was too much for Lontchi who built up an early lead including a second round knockdown that Lontchi shrugged off. Lontchi was not completely outmatched and was able to land several rights on Lopez in the fifth and sixth rounds that could have been a problem had Lontchi possessed any serious power. Those two rounds appeared to be his last stand as Lopez continued stalking his prey and landing the stronger shots. Lontchi simply did not have the power to respond and it made for some entertaining but futile scraps including an 8th round that had the crowd on their feet. Lopez finally had enough in the ninth and landed a textbook left, right combo that flattened Lontchi who would rise to his feet looking dejected. That knockdown would prove to be the one that broke Lontchi who retired in his corner.
Lopez is now on to bigger and better things. His offensive attack is top rate but the lingering question will be if his defense can hold up. Lontchii landed some very clean, crisp shots that should signal alarms for Lopez's camp. His defense will need to get better if he is to deliver on Bob Arum's promises of him being a lb for lb great.
Jorge Arce (52 - 5) KO 3 Fernando Lumacad (19 - 2)
Arce who was pushed onto this card after the cancellation of the Eric Morel/ Fernando Montiel fight that was set to take place. Arce strolled into the ring for his bout against the unknown Fernando Lumacad of the Phillipines, with his traditional cowboy hat and lollipop in hand. Arce began the fight far more tentative than is expected of him while Lumacad tried to slip his punches in. By the end of the second in appeared Lumacad was very well in the fight but was caught by a strong right in the third that set him to the canvas and it as clear that he had no intention of getting up. For Arce, this was a sweet victory after a crushing defeat to Vic Darchinyan. Arce has plenty of loyal fans that should keep him busy, whether he can claim another title at this stage at this career remains unseen. His speed has slowed from his prime but as the old adage goes, the power goes last and it appears in this case that Arce still has it.
Foreman has built a reputation over the years as a skilled technician who's been hesitant to trade which has made him a difficult commodity to sell. Instead, the focus of Foreman has been his unique background as a rabbi in training. Bundrage on the other hand was coming off the biggest win of his career and in this IBF eliminator was set on earning a shot at the title.
The bout opened in typical Foreman fashion with the first rounds featuring little action with Foreman landing the cleaner punches. Bundrage began to open up in the second and the output carried the round with two of the judges scoring the round for Bundrage. That momentum would be short lived as Foreman took back control in the third landing a right hook that appeared to stagger Bundrage. It appeared from ringside as Bundrage went to tie up Bundrage clashed heads with Foreman opening up a cut that forced the stoppage in Round 3.
In the first bout of the televised portion of the card, hot prospect Vanes Martirosyan earned easily the best win of his career in a six round dusting of the very tough and respected Andrey Tsurkan. From the onset of Round 1, it was clear Vanes would be too much for Andrey who came forward but was met by a number of crisp 1 - 2 combo's that were often followed by a sloppy uppercut that could be a problem against a more skilled opponent. Vanes was able to open a cut over Tsurkan with a strong right that swelled throughout the fight forcing the stoppage in the sixth round.
Andrey will likely go back to local cards waiting for his next chance to get back into contention. Andrey is a game fighter and tough as nails, he was just in over his head tonight. Vanes, on the other hand seems primed for a step up against a world class opponent and if he can fix a few small kinks could very well be a force at Junior Middleweight.
