In the main event of the evening, undefeated top 10-ranked Super bantamweight Adam Lopez (15-0-1, 7 KOs) looked to make his case for a title shot as he faced off against Argentine tough guy, Roman Reynoso (18-1-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
The two men put on a spirited fight as they spent long stretches trading heavy leather in the center of the ring.
Lopez and Reynoso both showed a good set of whiskers as they each ate clean blows round after round.
Entering Round 6, Showtime’s commentating crew had Lopez narrowly up three rounds to two, with Lopez making things more difficult for himself by opting to consistently bang on the inside instead of boxing and working behind his jab.
Though his face began to show some serious wear and tear, Reynoso found success behind looping right hands in Round 6 and Round 7, a punch Lopez just couldn’t get away from.
Reynoso continued to make things difficult for Lopez in Round 8 as the Argentine took Lopez’s best stuff, only to come back and land his own bombs.
Going into Round 9, the fight seemed to be up for grabs as Reynoso’s corner pleaded with their fighter to make an impression on a fight they felt was dead even as well.
Lopez got the better of the exchanges in Round 9, edging Reynoso with cleaner and more effective power punches.
In Round 10, both men continued to exchange bombs until Reynoso was cracked with the hardest punch of the fight, a short right hook that had him on wobbly legs for the remaining minute of the fight.
Although it wasn’t known at that moment, the fact that Reynoso spit out his mouth piece, bought himself time to recover and was able to stay off the canvas made a huge difference in the end.
Lopez seemed to have things wrapped up as the fight went to the cards, but it was scored a draw with scores of 96-94 for Lopez, 97-93 for Reynoso and 95-95.
It was certainly a learning experience for Lopez who will still be looking to step up for a shot at Jonathan Guzman’s newly won IBF title.
“It was a tough fight. He didn’t want to engage,” said a frustrated Lopez, who out-landed Reynoso 158-144 overall and 131-125 in power shots.
Lopez was not in agreement with the draw, feeling he had put on one of his best performances.
“He’s slick and experienced and a good fighter. I feel that this was my best performance on ShoBox. I have been working on new things with Ronnie Shields and it showed in there. I know I hurt him in the last round. The decision was bullshit. He could not hit me,” said Lopez.
Reynoso felt it was close but also thought that he should have been victorious.
“It was a close fight, but I feel I won,” Reynoso said.
In the third fight of the evening, Jerry Odom (14-2-1, 13 KOs) made his fifth ShoBox appearance against Julius Jackson (19-2, 15 KOs).
Odom, who was a late replacement, got off to a slow start, seemingly letting Jackson get comfortable and build some confidence.
But in the third, Odom stepped into a huge right hand which turned the lights out on Jackson.
One-punch KO by Jerry Odom who stops Julius Jackson in Rd. 3. #Boxing pic.twitter.com/s53vzIft3i
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) July 23, 2016
Odom has had his ups and downs on ShoBox, but this type of victory will certainly catapult him into bigger television opportunities.
“I saw the right hand. I was throwing combinations and I saw the opening and landed a good shot,” said Odom.
“As opposed to the last couple fights, I am in a great place physically, mentally and spiritually. I have a great team around me. We are unbreakable.”
For Jackson, one of the most personable guys in the sport, this marks the second consecutive devastating KO loss and it might be time to consider hanging up the gloves.
“He threw the punch at the right time and caught me,” said Jackson. “I was OK, but the referee stopped the fight.
The second fight of the night featured two once-beaten Lightweights O’Shaquie Foster (10-2, 7 KOs) and Rolando Chinea (13-1-1, 6 KOs) in an eight-round bout.
Foster, who had twice been featured on ShoBox, was looking to build off of two consecutive victories after dropping his first pro fight to Samuel Teah in 2015.
But Chinea, who had previously played spoiler against Mayweather Promotions fighter Ladarius Miller, had other plans for Foster.
Chinea dug into Foster’s chest all night, not allowing the fluid boxer to get separation and use his boxing ability.
Although the judges scored it for Chinea by split decision, it was clear after eight rounds that Foster had lost.
Official scores were 79-73 Chinea, 77-75 Foster and 78-74 for Chinea.
“That’s what makes boxing… From one round to another, things change so fast,” said Showtime commentator Raul Marquez after an exciting opening bout that saw Ian Green make a comeback and stop previously unbeaten Khiary Gray.
As Marquez’s fellow commentator Barry Tompkins noted, Gray was all over Green for the first round and two minutes, but it only took one well-placed shot from the late-replacement Green to turn the tables.
Green dropped Gray with a hard right in the second, which spelled the beginning of the end.
Gray was able to get up, but he succumbed to an onslaught of punches shortly after. Green improved to 10-1, 8 KOs, while Gray fell to 13-1, 10 KOs.
Ian Green comes storming back to hand Khiary Green his first pro loss. #Boxing pic.twitter.com/oJgvc4Y6Zd
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) July 23, 2016
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