The Teofimo Express Rolls On! Teofimo Lopez (11-0, 9 KOs) showed why, at age 21, he is the sport’s fastest rising star, knocking out Mason Menard with a right hand at only 44 seconds of the opening round. Menard (34-4, 24 KOs) fell face-first, and the fight was immediately waved off.
“I knew he was a tough fighter. I knew he could fight,” Lopez said. “I wanted to test him, and I took a chance early in the fight. I know he trained hard, and he didn’t want it to go that way. But this is ‘The Takeover.’ ‘The Takeover’ has begun.
“In 2019, I will be a world champion. That’s a guarantee.”
Navarrete Stuns Dogboe to Win Title
Emanuel Navarrete beat the long odds and stunned the rising superstar, Isaac Dogboe, via unanimous decision to win the WBO junior featherweight world title. The scores (116-112 2X, 115-113) reflected the action, as Navarrete was the aggressor throughout the fight
Navarrete (26-1, 22 KOs) stopped the streaking momentum of Dogboe (20-1, 14 KOs), who was making his second title defense.
“I thank Dogboe for this opportunity,” Navarrete said. “This world championship represents every day that I was working away from my family. This title represents sacrifice. I injured my right hand early in the fight, but I had the desire to be a champion and I did everything necessary to get the title, and I am very happy and proud to achieve this goal of being the world champion.”
Said Dogboe: “It was a great fight, and Emanuel Navarrete fought like a true Mexican warrior. Champions are supposed to keep going under any circumstance, but I just couldn’t get the victory. The best man won tonight.”
In an upset to start the evening, super lightweight Abdiel Ramirez (24-3-1, 22 KOs) stopped Michael “The Artist” Perez (25-3-2, 12 KOs) in the eighth and final round. Perez, from Newark, N.J., a longtime contender, was returning from a nearly 20-month layoff. Perez was leading on all three scorecards (68-64, 68-64, 66-65) at the time of the stoppage.
Brian Ceballo (6-0, 3 KOs) cruised to a four-round unanimous decision against Daniel Calzada by identical scores of 40-36