Saturday night at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, Jose Pedraza got one step closer to another shot at regaining a world title. He took all Antonio Lozada, Jr. could throw at him for the better part of seven rounds, after which he turned on the jets and scored a ninth round knockout to capture the vacant WBO Latino Lightweight title.
Lozada (40-3-1, 34 KO?s) was the more active of the two fighters once the bout was underway. Pedraza, by contrast, used the majority of the ring to evade his Tijuana opponent until he was able to get his own jab going. As a lightweight who stands approximately six feet tall, Antonio increased the pressure on his Puerto Rican foe until round?s end. Jose, a native of Cidra, Puerto Rico,was much more active in the second as he made his first appearance in the ring since losing by landslide to Vasiliy Lomachenko last December. As he continued to utilize his four-inch height advantage, Lozada?s jab was his best weapon to keep Pedraza (26-2, 13 KO?s) at a safe distance, due to Jose?s desire to fight on the inside.
Lozada landed a sharp overhand right early in the third, which was absorbed quite nicely by Pedraza, who then returned fire with nice combinations to the head. Jose looked to slow his Mexican adversary with body shots, which was an effective strategy for a short time. The two exchanged quick snapping punches to end the period.
Pedraza received a warning from referee Tellis Assimenios for shoving his shoulder into Lozada in the opening seconds of round four. He began to move around the ring as he?d previously done and as seen several minutes earlier, Lozada continued the chase. Jose was clearly becoming the more clinical of the two combatants.
Pedraza kept jabbing away at Antonio with shots high as well as low. As he took small steps to his right, Lozada would creep inward with multiple yet ineffective punches. In return, Jose landed clean deposits of leather upon his face. As he spent the opening minute of the sixth with his back against the ropes, Pedraza easily countered the widely swinging Lozada and evaded many of his punches. Jose landed a straight left just before the bell. A third warning from Assimenios, this time for leading with his head, was issued to Pedraza a minute into round seven. ?Sniper? pushed his Baja California opponent into a corner and the two fighters briefly went toe-to-toe.
Early in round eight, Pedraza tagged Lozada with a solid right hand to the head, which momentarily staggered the Mexican fighter. From a southpaw stance, Jose did more than prove his mettle with a clearly overmatched opponent. He had his way for the next few minutes. Jabs and power shots were landed with ease.
The following round was much of the same and the knockdown finally came in the closing minute of the ninth. A straight left put Lozada on his backside and although he easily beat the count and rose to his feet, the damage was done. Pedraza forced him into the ropes and basically teed off until moments later, when both referee Assimenios and Jose?s father/trainer stepped in to stop the contest at the 2:34 mark.
?I have two losses, but I just keep working hard,? said the victorious Pedraza after the bout. ?I want to be a world champion again at 135 pounds before I move up to 140.?
Additional Results from Kissimmee: Adam Lopez TKO 7 Jean Carlos Rivera – Featherweight Carlos Cuadras UD 8 Daniel Lozano – Bantamweight Edgar Berlanga KO 1 Gyorgry Varju – Middleweight Steven Nelson TKO 8 Victor Darocha – Light Heavyweight Orlando Gonzalez KO 3 Roxberg Riley – Featherweight Henry Lebron TKO 1 Luis Lizarraga – Super Featherweight Marco Diaz KO 1 Edgar Figueroa – Featherweight
