Windy City Fight Night 3 Photo Galleries

By Emil Kegebein

Click photo for list of fight galleries

Heavyweight Fres Oquendo W Mark Brown TKO 3 of 10
Light Welterweight Ivan Popoca W Hector Alatorre Pts 8 of 8
Super Middleweight Andrzej Fonfara W Skyler Thompson KO 2 of 8
Light Welterweight Rita Figueroa L Tammie Johnson MD 8 of 8x2
Featherweight Juan Bailon L Tommy Atencio UD 6 of 6
Welterweight Ryan Smedick W Gabriel Morris MD 4 of 4
Welterweight Achour Esho W Dontre King TKO 4 of 4

Lopez stops Lontchi in 9th round

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)—Juan Manuel Lopez stopped Olivier Lontchi in the ninth round to retain the WBO junior featherweight title Saturday night.

For Lopez (26-0, 24 KOs), the TKO was his 14th consecutive knockout.

“I knew going to be difficult,” Lopez said. “He was very awkward and very difficult to fight. I think the he was way fighting he wasn’t really boxing. He was running a lot. I didn’t feel like I was fighting as much as chasing. But I knew my strength would eventually get to him. I thought my power would wear him down.”

The 26-year-old earned the win when Lontchi went to his corner after the ninth round and told trainer Howard Grant he was unable to continue.

“He had a rib injury coming into the fight and he got hit with a bad shot there the round before (the eighth),” Grant said. “He actually wanted me to stop it after the eighth, but I told him to try it for one more round.”

Lopez, cheered on by a sparse-but-enthusiastic crowd of Puerto Rican supporters at Boardwalk Hall’s Adrian Phillips Ballroom, scored two knockdowns in the scheduled 12-round bout.

He dropped Lontchi for the first time in the second round with a right hook to the side of the head. Early in the ninth, Lontchi walked into a straight left and went down in a heap before rising on unsteady legs.

Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto may be the most popular fighter in Puerto Rico, but Lopez is not far behind.

“He’s a superstar, no question about it,” said Lopez’s promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. “I can’t see anybody who can stand up to him in the junior-featherweight or featherweight division.”

Lontchi, a native of Cameroon now living in Montreal, also earned some kudos with a respectable effort. The 26-year-old did not have enough firepower to slow Lopez’s advances, but did his best to frustrate Lopez with an unorthodox style that included steady movement interspersed with occasional flurries.

Lopez, who was defending his title for the fourth time, appeared headed for an easy win when he dropped Lontchi in the second round. Two rounds later, however, Lontchi began to find the mark with his own punches. He caught Lopez off-guard with a series of crisp, straight rights that sent sweat flying from Lopez’s brow and caused his fans to gasp in surprise.

With each passing round, Lontchi gained confidence. Lopez was still in command most of the time, but Lontchi didn’t wilt.

That was especially apparent in the seventh round. Lopez punished Lontchi with a body attack that drove him into the ropes. But instead of buckling, Lontchi gamely fought back and even landed a straight right that caused Lopez to briefly back away.

Lopez was relentless.

According to CompuBox statistics, Lopez landed 244 of 592 punches (41 percent) to 84 of 271 for Lontchi (31 percent). He also owned a 211-65 advantage in power punches.

Argentina’s Maidana stuns Victor Ortiz

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Victor Ortiz’s left eye was nearly swollen shut, and his right eye was ringed by a deep cut. Bruises and abrasions covered much of the rest of his face.

Nope, the Golden Boy’s telegenic protege isn’t quite ready for prime time.

Argentina’s Marcos Maidana stopped Ortiz early in the sixth round of an action-packed fight Saturday night, leaving one of the sport’s top prospects pulverized and chastened.

The 140-pound bout featured five knockdowns and several wild momentum swings that both thrilled and stunned a Staples Center crowd of 8,600 expecting to witness another step in the evolution of the 22-year-old Ortiz, a charismatic slugger ticketed for stardom by promoter Oscar De La Hoya.

Instead, the fans marveled at a remarkably resilient U.S. debut by Maidana (26-1, 25 KOs) a heavy-handed 140-pounder largely unknown outside his native land and Germany, where he has fought six times in the last two years.

Maidana was knocked down three times in the opening two rounds, yet rallied with a devastating right hand that turned Ortiz’s face into a mess. After Ortiz stumbled to the canvas early in the sixth, the ringside doctor stopped the fight.

“I knew I was fighting against the local guy, and I had to knock him out,” said Maidana, whose only previous loss was a contentious split decision to Andreas Kotelnik earlier this year. “I went down, but I got up because I have a big heart. I saw that Victor felt my punches, and I said, ‘I know I can win this.”’

Ortiz (24-2-1), who held a comically large bag of ice to his swollen face afterward, acknowledged he entered the ring thinking about the bright lights, the chanting fans and the pressure—everything but Maidana, who also knocked him flat in the first round and then eagerly accepted Ortiz’s invitation to brawl.

“It didn’t hit me until I was on my way to the ring,” Ortiz said. “I was like, ‘Whoa.’ It just really messed with me, and I didn’t perform. … I just fought a dumb fight. I didn’t listen to my corner.”

Although De La Hoya insisted Ortiz still is a budding champion, the Kansas native took too many big shots while fighting with no discernible strategy. Ortiz connected on 42 percent of his 177 punches, but Maidana was much busier with 293 punches, connecting with 23 percent.

“Yeah, he went down,” De La Hoya said. “But he’ll get right back up and fulfill his dream.”

Both fighters moved forward furiously from the opening bell, and Ortiz knocked down Maidana for the first time on a big right hand with about 1:15 left. With the crowd standing and cheering for Ortiz, Maidana landed a right hand that put Ortiz flat on his back.

The crowd was as stunned as Ortiz. The second round was even more electric, with the boxers trading shots until Ortiz knocked down Maidana with a right hook with about 30 seconds left—and then did it again with a shorter version of the same punch right before the bell.

But Maidana landed several big shots in the next three rounds, rocking Ortiz with two powerful right hands in the final seconds of the fifth. Ortiz also developed that big cut, which gaped open when the fight ended 46 seconds into the sixth.

“I came to look to finish him, and that’s what happened,” Maidana said. “He hits very hard, but he doesn’t have a good chin. Definitely he didn’t adjust to my rhythm.”

Chris John, the Indonesian featherweight champion who backed out of his co-main event rematch with Rocky Juarez this week because of an illness, appeared in the ring before the final bout. He waved to several hundred flag-waving Indonesian fans who bought tickets thinking they would see John’s second fight in this country.

The undercard fighters entered the ring to the strains of remixed Michael Jackson songs, and Ortiz made his ring walk to a “Beat It” and “Thriller” mash-up. A ceremonial 10-count was rung in honor of the pop star who died Thursday in Holmby Hills, about 12 miles from Staples Center. Jackson spent many nights rehearsing at the arena during the past two months for his 50 scheduled summer appearances in London.

Abraham retains IBF middleweight title over Oral

BERLIN (AP)—Undefeated Arthur Abraham successfully defended his IBF middleweight title with a technical knockout of fellow German Mahir Oral in the 10th round on Saturday.

Abraham improved his record to 30-0 with his 10th consecutive defense, though none have been against top-level challengers since he won the title in December 2005.

Armenian-born Abraham knocked down Oral in the fourth, sixth and 10th rounds, the last forcing the referee to call the fight.

The defeat was Oral’s first in 19 bouts since his only previous loss, to Malik Dziarra in 2004.

Molitor beats Ruiz in super bantamweight bout

RAMA, Ont. (AP)—Steve Molitor outpointed Mexico’s Heriberto Ruiz on Friday night to win the IBF super bantamweight title eliminator.

Molitor, former world champion, beat Ruiz (41-8-2, 8 KO) at Casino Rama to move into the vacant number two spot for the IBF crown.

Harry Davis scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Ruiz, Kelly Zolnierczyk had it 116-112 for Molitor, and Benoit Roussel scored it 116-112 for Molitor.

Ranked fourth in the world by the IBF coming into the fight, the boxer known as “The Canadian Kid” rebounded from a loss to Panamanian Celestino Caballero in a unified title fight last November.

Molitor, of Sarnia, Ontario, lost the IBF super bantamweight title and Caballero’s WBA belt, but with his victory against Ruiz he’ll have a chance to win his title back in September.

Molitor and Ruiz got off to a slow start with few punches thrown in the first and second rounds. The fighters were sparked by loud booing from the crowd, and the fight finally picked up at the end of the second.

Ruiz cut Molitor’s forehead in the seventh to little effect. Ruiz began swinging wild punches, missing the target as Molitor advanced.

Blood dripping off Molitor’s left brow seemed to temporarily slow the pace of the fight to open up the ninth round. Ruiz did not take advantage.

In the 10th round, both men rested for the first two minutes but ended the round slugging away.

Molitor opened the 11th by landing four straight punches that forced Ruiz back to the ropes. Ruiz responded in the 12th round with several body shots on Molitor, who survived to earn the split decision.

Mayweather-Marquez rescheduled for Sept. 19

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

Floyd Mayweather’s return to boxing is back on, although the new date won’t make things any easier for him against hard-hitting Juan Manuel Marquez.

The former pound-for-pound king, who was slated to fight Marquez next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, issued a statement Friday that said he’s been cleared by doctors following a rib injury and the fight will go off Sept. 19— the weekend after Mexican Independence Day.

“I am relieved to be cleared to fight,” Mayweather said. “Trust me, September 19 is a great weekend for boxing, and all of my fans—of which there are many Mexicans too—can certainly hold on to their hats and sombreros when I get back in to the ring.”

Mayweather, who is coming out of a brief retirement, damaged cartilage in his ribs during training two weeks ago. He was committed to rescheduling the fight, even though more lucrative opponents like Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao became available.

Ticket sales reportedly had been slow for the pay-per-view event, but they should get a significant boost because of the new date. Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16, and the bout will follow that Saturday—a weekend that had long belonged to Oscar De La Hoya.

The “Golden Boy,” whose promotional company handles Marquez, retired earlier this year.

“This particular fight did extremely well on ticket sales. Several price categories sold out,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told The Associated Press. “When the fight was announced to be postponed, we were over $5.6 million in ticket sales and it was shaping up to be one of the largest non-heavyweight fights in the history of Las Vegas, not involving Oscar.

“We were ahead of what Pacquiao and (Ricky) Hatton did with the same amount of time to promote.”

Schaefer, who was busy with this weekend’s 140-pound title fight between Victor Ortiz and Marcos Maidana, said he was initially concerned Mayweather might be out longer.

“We were hoping it would be OK to be medically cleared for September, because it’s the biggest day every year for pay-per-view in the United States,” Schaefer said. “Almost like the Super Bowl weekend—you just knew that in September there’s a big fight.”

Mayweather, the former five-division champ, hasn’t fought since knocking out Hatton in December 2007, when he was still reveling in his breakthrough victory over De La Hoya. His unexpected retirement last year came in a statement issued by his publicist, just as he was gaining mainstream attention with appearances on “Dancing with the Stars” and at WrestleMania.

His aura seemed to have dimmed over the past year, though, and there have been reports that Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) has been having financial hardships. On top of that, Pacquiao has risen to become boxing’s best all-around fighter and most compelling attraction.

That alone may have been enough to lure “Money” Mayweather back into the ring.

His handlers began fielding offers for fights several months ago—few believed that Mayweather would stay retired—and he eventually settled on Marquez, who’s ranked highly on most pound-for-pound lists but is a relative unknown among mainstream sports fans.

Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs), who has fought to a draw and close split-decision loss against Pacquiao, is coming off riveting knockouts of Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, which earned him the vacant WBO lightweight title in February.

He’ll be moving up to fight Mayweather at a catch weight of 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest Mayweather has been since 2005.

“I am happy that Mayweather has been cleared to fight and we can get down to business,” Marquez said. “This weekend is not just an important weekend for boxing, but even more so for all of the Mexican and Mexican-American people I will be fighting for.

“(They) will have a great reason to celebrate my win over Mayweather, which will be for all of the people and for the entire country of Mexico that night.”