One More Round With Mark Lyons: Lopez/Mtagwa, Vasquez & The Super Six

Mark Lyons is back with his weekly take on the previous weekend's boxing action, as well as a look ahead to what's coming up.

Photo © Marty Rosengarten / Ringsidephotos.com

We had an old school type of war in New York plus the return of a warrior. Next on tap is the long awaited opening of the Super Six, to that all I can say is….Lets get ready to rumble.

My take on this past weekend's action...

While many were slamming Roger Mtagwa (pictured) as a challenger for the young Puerto Rican star in the making, Juan Manual Lopez, I was quietly looking forward to the fight. It reminded me of an 80’s network match-up when champions were more active and brutish warriors that toiled on small cards were given a chance. There is always the potential for a Rocky Balboa moment and we got one last weekend. Roger was willing to walk through a Sherman tank to get his licks in and prove once again the record never measures the man.

It was a tremendous fight that was packed with drama. If you weren’t on the edge of your seat in the final two rounds, you should probably stick to watching sitcoms. Mtagwa fell just short and though I found two of the cards to be a bit wide, I agreed with the decision.

I also wouldn’t jump the gun on damning Lopez to being overrated as this was a bull strong challenger who refused to go away. Juanma needs to go back to setting up shots with his jab and lets all hope Mtagwa gets another payday out of this.

Anybody get the impression that Israel Vazquez would go to war with a cheerleader? He knows no other way.

While it was a bit concerning that he struggled so mightily with a journeyman. There was rust involved and a style change at this point probably got him thinking too much in there. But when the fight is tight and the blood is flowing, the man needs no council on how to close a show. I’ll reserve requests for retirement until I see him again. But it was strange to have such an entertaining battle concern you as much as it entertained you.

Looking Ahead...

Arthur Abraham is going to brutalize Jermain Taylor, no maybes about it. Nothing in the style match up favors the gutsy American.

You have to applaud Taylor for his ambitious schedule, but he is up against it bad here. Abraham will block his shots and counter with thunder, hurting Taylor early and often. Only Taylor’s courage will get this fight to the midway point and possibly beyond. But it will take several trips to the canvas to last that long.

I’m picking Carl Froch over Andre Dirrell in the other fight, but with a bit more reservations.

Dirrell has obvious athletic gifts, but they come with some evident flaws and a gut feeling that he will fold under pressure. Now, he can certainly laugh at that gut feeling and may turn out to be more than advertised, but I really think this is a rough spot for a coming out party. He may have the ability to stink it out, but I’m hard pressed to see him take a decision in Carl’s hometown by running.

My take is Froch adjusts to the speed after a few rounds and begins to break Dre down before stopping him late.

A fight I’ve been thinking about...

Frank Bruno vs Tommy Morrison

Bombs away! Bruno was a bit sturdier, but Tommy was faster and probably had an edge in heart. Impossible to predict this with any conviction. They would both almost assuredly see the canvas and it’s highly unlikely to see the final bell. In a 51/49 moment, I’ll take Morrison to survive a couple early knockdowns and flatten the big Brit in the fourth.

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Lopez Barely Holds Off Mtagwa in Dramatic Brawl

By Andrew Fruman

Douglas over Tyson, Honeyghan over Curry, Turpin over Robinson, Braddock over Baer…

One more round – heck maybe just a dozen more seconds – separated Rogers Mtagwa, the Tanzanian born Philly fighter from a stirring come from behind upset that would have ranked right up there with some of the biggest shockers the sport has ever seen.

With 12 losses to his name, and a wide open come forward style that seemed perfect fodder for the destructive fists of the belt holder (the WBO 122 pound strap if you care about such things), Mtagwa was given a spot in Saturday night’s Latin Fury 12 main event for the sole purpose of getting hammered by Top Rank’s rising young star. Instead, the tough as nails journeyman brawler produced a stirring effort in pushing the fancied house fighter to the brink.

While Lopez banked the early rounds, landing a number of heavy right hooks and straight lefts, Mtagawa never stopped coming. He relentlessly waded through the leather, and kept banging away with his own artillery, and slowly but surely the flow of the fight began to change - and by the mid-rounds, the expected blow out had turned into a give and take battle of attrition highlighted by a number of fierce exchanges.

By the 11th round of the fast paced bout, both men had absorbed a great deal of punishment and were looking tired, but it was the wide swinging Mtagwa that seemed to have more left and looked to be the more willing and confident fighter. However, it was not until the closing seconds of the round that he found a real break through.

It came in the form of a big left hook that badly shook Lopez, who appeared dazed as he headed back to his corner. Had the punch landed a little earlier, Lopez might very well have been finished.

As it was, even with the precious 60 second break, Lopez did not appear fully recovered when he came out for the final frame. It was a heart stopping 3 minutes, with Mtagwa desperately going for the finish, as Lopez in full on survival mode, staggered all over the ring.

As the final moments ticked down, the reeling title holder looked up at the Wumu Theater time clock to see how much time was left. It was heady, but desperate stuff from Lopez, who somehow managed to still be on his feet when the bell sounded.

Lopez had survived – winning on the cards by scores of 116-111, 115-111 and 114-113.

While he may have come up just short, it was a championship effort from Mtagwa that will not soon be forgotten. Bob Arum made it clear he wouldn’t be getting another crack at Lopez, but if there’s any justice, he'll be in there with another name opponent, and hopefully receive a decent payday to go with it.

After 13 hard working years as a pro, giving it everything he has each time out, it's the least he deserves.

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