Highlights
—Sammy Vasquez Jr. wobbled Jose Lopez’s legs with a hard left hand in Round 2 and then evaded his opponent's charge, foreshadowing how much of the action would go on this night.
—In Round 4, the fight reached a boiling point when Vasquez pummeled Lopez relentlessly with hook after hook in what amounted to target practice for the local favorite.
—Vasquez closed the show in Round 5, dropping Lopez with a fusillade of punches. Lopez managed to beat the count, although Vasquez initially thought the fight was over. Seconds later, it would be as Vasquez resumed his onslaught before referee Gary Rosato stepped in to stop the bout.
Left! .. Left! ... Left, right, left!: “Sergeant” Sammy Vasquez marched all over the face of Jose Lopez, but with his fists in place of his feet.
Vasquez confused Lopez by coming at him at multiple angles and controlling the distance of the fight, and battered his opponent with well-timed left hooks and hard uppercuts.
Lopez kept bulldozing forward, eager to engage and wanting to brawl, but Vasquez was too slick and crafty, juking and jiving out of harm’s way while countering with steady accuracy. It was the difference between a machine gun’s wild spray and the precise fire of a sniper’s rifle.
Although he was in control the whole fight, Vasquez really started to dominate in Round 4, when he landed a head-swiveling fusillade of blows in the center of the ring.
In the fifth, Vasquez dropped Lopez with whipsaw punching. Lopez beat the count, but it was he who was truly beaten, as referee Gary Rosato would soon stop the fight, resulting in a TKO victory for the undefeated Vasquez.
In the fifth round, Vasquez dropped Lopez with whipsaw punching. Lopez beat the count, but referee Gary Rosato soon stopped the fight. (Lucas Noonan / Premier Boxing Champions)
