The latest battle in the war for pugilistic supremacy between Puerto Rico and Mexico quickly turned into a crowd-pleasing, instant classic. The MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, served as the battle ground for the ongoing war. The younger, fresher Juan Manuel Lopez (30-0, 27 KO), Puerto Rico?s newest star, put his WBO featherweight title on the line against Mexican legend Rafael Marquez (39-6, 35 KO). Lopez retained his title, and kept hopes for a possible future unification bout with Yuriorkis Gamboa alive with an eighth-round TKO victory over Rafael Marquez.
Lopez, a hard-hitting southpaw, used his right hook early and often, and found early success with it. Marquez landed his right hand lead and left hook early as well, leaving himself open to right hook counters from Lopez. In the first two rounds, Lopez landed the cleaner, more effective blows on the smaller Marquez.
The third round showed the first signs of wobbly legs. Marquez landed a hard right hand and a left hook that backed Lopez up. Lopez countered with a blistering left hand that wobbled Marquez, sending him crashing back into the ropes. Lopez rushed in with a right hook, but ate a counter left hook from Marquez.
The fourth round was just as exciting, as Lopez controlled the early action with a variety of straight lefts and right hooks. Lopez got careless after landed a three-punch combination, and Marquez countered him with a left hook-straight right combination. Lopez was able to fight back as Marquez moved in for the kill, but was eventually docked a point for hitting behind the head.
Despite some moments where the bigger, younger Lopez was on the retreat in the fifth round, he was able to turn the tide again and dominate rounds six through eight. With the heart of a battle-tested champion beating inside of him, Marquez battled against fatigue and the effects of a bigger man?s punches. Marquez found himself backed into corners and against the ropes, but always fought his way back to the center of the ring.
Lopez was able to wear down a stiff-legged Marquez, who never backed down from the insurmountable challenge before him. At the close of the eighth round, the two valiant warriors stood toe-to-toe and traded power shots. A straight righ
