Second round devastating knock out sees Cuellar defeat Juan Manuel Lopez

The fifth fight of the night was a scheduled 12 round bout for the WBA featherweight interim title between Jesus Cuellar (25-1, 19 KOs) from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Juan Manuel Lopez (34-5, 31 KOs) from Rio Pierdas, PR.  The 27 year old Cuellar came in with a reach of 71” while the 31 year-old Lopez with that of 69”.  Cuellar had a great deal of support from the crowd of 4,000 as many Argentineans had traveled to Las Vegas to watch the Mayweather vs Maidana rematch Saturday night.

Both fighters moved in at the start of the first round and met each other in their southpaw stance with a high guard.  Cuellar was pressuring forward, fainting with his hands and landing strong power punches.  Both connected with hooks at the same time but Cuellar was able to follow with three right hooks to the head.  By the time the round was over, a mouse had begun to form under Lopez’ right eye.

Round two began and both boxers began to flurry.  At one minute and 36 seconds of the second round Lopez was knocked out by Cuellar with a one-two combination and was unable to stand up.  In fact, he seemed to not even know where he was, such was the power of the punch from Cuellar.  Cuellar had landed a few quick hooks after the combination but a review of the tape clearly showed that Gonzalez was already out and was taking punishment as he was falling to the ground.

Charlo stops Gonzalez in the seventh

The fourth event for the night was an eight round middleweight bout between Jermall “Hitman” Charlo (19-0, 16 KOs) from Houston, TX and Norberto Gonzalez (20-5, 13 KOs) from Puerto Rey, Mexico.  The 24 year-old Charlo came in at 6’0” and a reach of 73.5” while the 33 year-old Gonzalez came in at 5’10” and a reach of 71”.  Gonzalez had never been stopped in his career.  Charlo had said he was interested in fighting Carlos Molina after this event.

As the first round began, Charlo came in with his left hand down while Gonzalez had a higher guard and was bobbing and weaving but backing up from the pressure.  Charlo exhibited his quicker hands in the first round, mainly by sticking the jab.  He also cut off the ring from Gonzalez very effectively while he stalked him and used a head-body combination.

The beginning of the second round found Gonzalez in trouble against the ropes but he was able to dig deep and fight his way out with a one-two combination.  He tried moving to his left and his right but was unable to evade Charlo.  Charlo landed a beautiful double jab and a straight right combination.

Round three found Charlo landing a low blow without much effect on Gonzalez.  He was warned by referee Kenny Bayless and the round continued.  Gonzalez began to show obvious signs of fatigue by puting his arms down and breathing with his mouth open.

Even though he had been warned about the low blow, Charlo landed another low blow in the fourth round.  This left hook had power behind it and actually dropped Gonzalez.  His face showed nothing but excruciating pain and it looked as though he might use the full five minutes allotted to him.  Bayless, meanwhile, took a point away from Charlo.

After the round, Charlo’s corner told him not to worry about the point deduction and to just relax.  He was instructed to forget about the body shots and just shoot uppercuts while Gonzalez was covering his face.

Charlo came out strong and determined in the fifth round with straights and backed Gonzalez. Gonzalez was not active at this point and was just protecting his face, however, a powerful right hand from Charlo dropped him and sent him through the ropes to the edge of the ring.  He did not land the punch but it had enough power behind it to make contact with Gonzalez’ gloves and knock him down as a result of squaring off and not having balance.  Gonzalez quickly got up with a smile on his face and continued taking punishment for the rest of round.  Charlo moved in for the kill but Gonzalez was saved by the bell.   The punch stats for the round were 40% landed for Charlo but only 11% for Gonzalez.

In between rounds Gonzalez complained to his corner of a cramp on his right leg and had it massaged.  The commentators believed this may have been a result of bad footing.  As round six began he came out swinging but showed no determination after that with the exception of a few one-two combinations and smothering Charlo.

After the end of the round, Charlo’s corner told him Gonzalez was ready to quit and to get him in the corner again.  They also tell him to use uppercuts when his guard was high.  Punch stats for the round showed Charlo landing 21% of his jabs and Gonzalez 14%.

Shortly after the seventh round began, Charlo took the advice of his corner to heart because he landed two straight rights, a left hook and an uppercut only for Gonzalez’ corner to stop the fight.  Charlo won by TKO at one minute and 23 seconds of the seventh round.

“J Rock” Williams gets decision win against Eliezer Gonzalez 

The third event of the night consisted of an eight round junior middleweight match between Julian “J-Rock” Williams Jr. (17-0-1, 10 KOs) from Philadelphia, PA and Eliezer “Pop” Gonzalez” (14-1-0, 9 KOs) from San Juan, PR.  Williams, who was wearing red, white and blue in honor of the 9/11 anniversary, is known to be a very active fighter and had a reach advantage over Gonzalez at 72.5”.

Gonzalez, wearing black with Puerto Rican colors, had said he had not had as many fights as he wanted due to managerial problems.  He also stated he came to Las Vegas to avenge the defeat of his fellow Puerto Rican Felix Trinidad by William’s fellow Philadelphian Bernard Hopkins.  In addition, Gonzalez was also trained by Felix Trinidad Sr.

The first round of the fight started out with both boxers meeting at the center of the ring, Gonzalez with his guard high and Williams with his left hand lowered almost in a teasing manner.  Gonzalez started stepping back as Williams pressured forward with a wider stance.  They both tried to feel each other out; typical of any first round activity, but they eventually started landing power punches almost in an attempt to end the fight early.  Before the end of the round, Gonzalez took a power left hook to the face from Williams.

Round two began by Williams effectively using his straight right as instructed by his corner to back up Gonzalez.  He was also sticking the jab with precision and Gonzalez did not seem to do much to avoid it.

The third round was interesting because Williams began bobbing and weaving more and began talking to Gonzalez.  As to what exactly he was saying, that is not know.  He began landing more punches with his quick hands and Gonzalez was able to land a one-two combination before the end of the round.  Punch statistics showed that both of them were even in punches landed at 29%.

Round four started out with both boxers getting tangled and referee Jay Nady breaking them up.  Williams’ corner instructed him to set up the knockout but Gonzalez continued to clinch.  A powerful uppercut by Williams backed Gonzalez.  As Nady tried to separate them again, Gonzalez tried to punch Williams in the back of the head as his back was turned to him.  Nady warned him for this and for holding, signs that he was becoming desperate.

As the fifth round began, Williams’ corner told him to throw more than one punch at a time but the most he was able to do in the round was land a big right hand.  The power punches for the round were at 47% for Williams and 28% for Gonzalez.  It was the half-way point of the round and Gonzalez was aware he was losing the fight but he was still trying to stay in it.

The eight and final round began and still no signs of fatigue from either fighter.  Both came out to finish strong.  Before the end of the round, Williams was able to land a fierce right hand before getting another one-two combination from Gonzalez.

Williams went on to win the fight by unanimous decision with a 35% rate of punches landed compared to 21% for Gonzalez.

Errol Spence stays unbeaten with convincing win against Bolanos

The second event of the night was an eight round middleweight bout between Errol Spence Jr. (14-0, 11 KOs) from Desoto, TX and Noe Bolanos (26-11-1, 16 KOs) from Obregon, Mexico.  Spence, the 24 year-old former 2012 Olympian southpaw is known for using his reach advantage and was clearly going to be able to do that in this fight.  He had a 72” reach compared to Bolanos’ 69”.

Round one began and Spence came in with a very high guard, almost hypnotizing Bolanos.  Bolanos came in with a decent guard himself.  They both came off to a very slow start in order to feel each other out.  Spence was looking for his range with his quick hands, particularly his almost invisible jab.  Bolanos, on the other hand, was not avoiding the punches.  He was moving to Spence’s left at times, as one would expect an opponent to do with a southpaw.  However, he still seemed to be hypnotized by Spence’s movement and was standing right in front of him at times.  Unfortunately for him, he was not able to find his reach and tag Spence.  Spence was very active throughout the round and was landing with precision and power.

In between rounds, you could hear Derrick James in Spence’s corner asking for the jab while Jesus Fuentes, in Bolanos’ corner, was telling him in Spanish to circle to the left.

The bell rang and round two began.  Bolanos was still missing on his punches and falling forward after losing his balance.  At one point, Spence landed a mean left hook and the crowd sounded as if though they felt it just like Bolanos.  Spence, however, kept his composure and did not look for the finish.  Spence, unlike Bolanos, was able to use his hand speed to block his punches as well as for attacking.

The round ended and there seemed to be some confusion in Bolanos’ corner.  He told referee Robert Byrd that he could not go on because he had injured his left hand during the round.  This was a point of comical relief for commentators Paulie Malignaggi and Brian Custer as they seemed to have believed that it was impossible for him to have hurt his hand since he never used it to block a punch.  They go on to say that that it was actually Spence’s hands that convinced Bolanos not to come out for a third round.  The fight ends and Spence wins by TKO.  Final punch stats for the fight were 45% landed by Spence and 25% by Bolanos.  Bolanos landed 14 punches throughout the fight.

Josesito Lopez prevails after defeating Rafael Cobos on an unanimous decision.  

The first fight of the night was a scheduled eight round welterweight bout between Josesito “The Riverside Rocky” Lopez (33-6-0, 19 KOs) from Riverside, CA and Rafael Cobos (15-5-5, 3 KOs) from Tijuana, Mexico in which Lopez gained the unanimous points decision.  Lopez, who is currently ranked 11^th in the WBC welterweight division, was hoping to use this as a stepping stone after losses to Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana.  He has won 3 fights since these losses.  He is hoping to fight Amir Khan by the end of this year.

As the first round began, Cobos came out very active with his jab but seemed to be very heavy on his front foot.  Lopez, who seemed to have the height and reach advantage, was setting the pace with his jab and trying to keep Cobos at a safe distance.  Cobos, however, did not seem deterred and kept moving forward and began to clinch Lopez.  Lopez used this time to connect with a few body shots.  For a few seconds, Lopez actually seemed to step back as Cobos attacked and they both traded and clinched once again before the bell rang.

Round two started off with Cobos complaining that he was getting hit behind the head and clinching Lopez more to avoid his punches.  At this point, referee Tony Weeks had to separate them in what would be one of many occasions throughout the fight.  Lopez was still able to connect, though, and landed a massive right hand to the head before the bell rang.

The third round of the fight began with Lopez putting more pressure on Cobos and aiming for the body.  In one instance, he threw a straight left to the body.  One can only speculate that he was hoping for a weaker mid-section on Cobos’ part and that this would lead to a finish.  Instead, Cobos continued to get tangled on purpose with Lopez to prevent further punishment.

At this point in the fight, Cobos still had a high guard and was bobbing and weaving but without much effect.  Lopez had a slightly lower guard and was coming in straight but was using better balance and foot-work to attack and evade counterpunches.  By the end of the third round, Lopez landed 37% of his punches while Cobos landed only 27%.

Round four did not see any sign of tiring on either side, however, Cobos was still not able to find his reach despite his spurts and flurries.  They both smothered each other for the most part until Lopez was able to land an uppercut to the chin and push Cobos to the ropes before the bell rang.

At the halfway point of the fight, Cobos turns the heat on and begins to increase the pressure, gains his confidence and faints punches.  He definitely does not seem shy at this point of the fight.  They both begin to pick up the pace and Lopez capitalizes on his left hook.  The statistics for this round showed 47% power punches from Lopez and 27% from Cobos.

The following round showed Cobos bleeding from his nose but not deterred from trying to win this fight.  In between rounds, Gerald Espinoza from Cobos’ corner instructs him in Spanish to use his overhand right.

Round seven of the fight showed Lopez increasing his tempo and Cobos lunging with his left hook but still missing for the most part.  He was also protecting himself more by lowering his elbows and moving them closer to his body, showing signs that Lopez’ strategy with his body punches had worked.  Most of the round still consisted of a lot of grappling.  At the end of the round, each boxer waited for the other to make a move.  When Cobos started off after Lopez, Lopez quickly landed a one-two combination.

The eighth and final round consisted of much of the same material throughout the rest of the fight: grappling and Tony Weeks breaking up the boxers.  At the end of the fight, it is safe to say Lopez never expected to go eight rounds with a B level boxer like Cobos.  This was actually not one of his best performances and at times seemed like a sparring session.  This is an indication he may have to go back to the drawing work and do some more work before he takes on the likes of Amir Khan.  The statistics for the fight overall fight showed Lopez with 30% punches landed and Cobos with 26%.  Lopez went on to win by unanimous decision.

– Nader Gamez / @NaderGamez

– Contributor for www.BehindtheGloves.com

One of the hottest fighters in the world, undefeated Julian “J Rock” Williams (16-0-1, 10 KO’s) is preparing for his showdown with fellow undefeated Eliezer Gonzalez (14-0, 9 KO’s) on Thursday, September 11 at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 24 year-old Williams of Philadelphia has been climbing the ranks and gaining attention due to his spectacular performances on willingness to take on anyone while doing in front of national television audiences.

This fight has all the makings of an action packed slugfest as Williams has six knockouts in his last eights fights while Gonzalez has stopped six in a row.

Williams has impressive wins over Hector Rosario (7-1-2); Jonel Tapia (8-2-1); Jeremiah Wiggins (10-1-1).  Williams started to get be noticed after his three-knockdown unanimous decision over former world champion Joachim Alcine (33-4-1).  Williams was on his way to a win over undefeated Hugo Centeno (19-0) before a cut over Centeno’s eye forced a no-contest.  Williams stopped three consecutive high quality opponents in Orlando Lora (29-4-2), former world title challenger Freddy Hernandez (30-6) and his last bout when took out contender and Abel Sanchez trained Michael Medina (26-4-2) in eight rounds on May 24.

The date of the fight has significance as it takes place on September 11.  Williams will honor the fallen of that fateful day 13 years ago by wearing USA themed trunks and robe.

One bit of irony is that on September 15, 2001, another Philadelphia fighter in Bernard Hopkins was set to face an undefeated Puerto Rican star in Felix Trinidad. Unfortunately that bout had to be postponed due to the events of 9-11 and Trinidad was trained by the same man that will be in Gonzalez corner.  That being Felix Trinidad Sr.

Said Williams, “I don’t know much about Eliezer Gonzalez but I do know he’s undefeated and he’s trained by Felix Trinidad Sr.. I also know he’s scored a lot of KO’s lately. But that doesn’t mean anything to me because those KO’s weren’t against Julian “J Rock” Williams. I will find out how hard he can punch when we get in the ring. I know what I’m on the verge of and I can not allow Gonzalez to alter my destiny. I expect a shootout and that’s just fine with me. I can fight any type of fight I have to, to win. But everyone remembers the last time there was a match between Puerto Rico vs Philadelphia. In fact it was in September of 2001 when the the 9-11 incident occurred. Bernard Hopkins defeated the great Felix Trinidad. We are going to reenact that fight. I will play Bhop and he can play Tito.”

Stephen Edwards, the trainer of Williams has been happy with the progress of his pupil and he knows a win over Gonzalez will help Williams continue on the path to a world title.

“He put it all together in the last fight. I am usually very critical of him but I would have to nitpick in order to criticize that last fight. He fought a great fight. He was a violent, smooth, boxer puncher. He put a terrible beating on a game, motivated fighters\ who’s back was up against the wall. Going into this fight we started camp June 9th. There is no room for a let down for Julian. He understands he has to win and win impressively. There are a lot of quality guys in the super welterweight division and a sub par performance can put you in the back of the line,” said Edwards.

“I’m glad he’s fighting an undefeated guy because undefeated guys fight with a sense of entitlement. They have an aura about them. They don’t want to lose. I picked this guy from a short list and I’m glad our team got it done. This is Gonzalez’s big opportunity knocking off an Al Haymon fighter and Julian understands that. At this stage in his career I don’t want any gimme fights for him. They won’t do him any good because if he continues his success he’s going to be fighting for a title within a year.”

– PRESS RELEASE