MANILA, Philippines – ZambZamboanga Sibugay?s Silvester Lopez came back strong from a fluke knockdown to surprise Mexico?s Juan Jose Montes only to lose by a unanimous sixth round technical decision in a WBC superflyweight title eliminator at the Coliseo Olimpico in Guadalajara last Saturday night.oanga Sibugay?s Silvester Lopez came back strong from a fluke knockdown to surprise Mexico?s Juan Jose Montes only to lose by a unanimous sixth round technical decision in a WBC superflyweight title eliminator at the Coliseo Olimpico in Guadalajara last Saturday night.
Lopez, 22, was given a mandatory eight-count by referee Frank Gentile in the first round but the fall looked more like a slip. The knockdown appeared to infuriate Lopez who left Montes with a nasty cut on his right eyebrow in the second round. Gentile, however, ruled that the wound was inflicted by an accidental headbutt.
Lopez took at least two rounds in the judges scorecards and was behind on points when Gentile stepped in to rule Montes unfit to continue because of his cut. Montes did not come out for the sixth round. The three judges had identical scorecards, 48-45, at the end of five rounds.
Reports from Guadalajara were sketchy but from indications, Montes took three of the five rounds and Lopez was slapped a point deduction for the headbutt that opened a cut. Lopez was on the short end of a 10-8 round in the first stanza because of the knockdown.
The defeat snapped Lopez? 10-fight winning streak and crushed his hopes of challenging newly-crowned WBC 115-pound champion Tomas Rojas of Mexico. His record dipped to 14-3-1, with 10 KOs. Montes, 21, raised his mark to 19-1, with 12 KOs. The fight determined Rojas? first challenger since the Mexican, who lost to Gerry Pe?alosa on points at the Araneta Coliseum four years ago, claimed the vacant crown by outpointing Kohei Kono in Saitama last Sept. 20.
A 2-1 favorite, Montes wasn?t expected to encounter stiff opposition from Lopez who fought in his first overseas bout. While Lopez was tipped by Mexican boxing experts as a dangerous knockout puncher, his lack of experie
