Lowe defeated by Lopez in IBF Eliminator
Reported by Ron Lewis from BoxingScene.com: Isaac Lowe (21-1-3, 6 KOs) was shocked by Luis Alberto Lopez (24-2, 13 KOs) during an IBF featherweight final eliminator.
The hard-hitting Mexican scored three knockdowns to settle matters with a seventh round knockout of the unbeaten 'Westgate Warrior', who was walked to the ring by WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The 28-year-old Mexican, known as 'El Venado', now finds himself in line for a world title shot at newly crowned champion Kiko Martinez, who defeated Kid Galahad last month.
Lopez started blisteringly fast to drop 27-year-old Lowe with a swift left hook just seconds into the contest. Lowe bravely beat the count, but the Mexican went in for the kill, hoping for an early night. Lowe typically fought fire with fire, being the warrior he is, and was able to get out of trouble as both boxers furiously exchanged to the bell. What an opener!
They continued to trade punches in the second stanza, with Lopez scoring another knockdown with a clever counter right. Lowe returned to his feet once more and the pair traded shots for the remainder of the round.
Much of the same in the third, with Lowe busy and active trying to claw back the points after opening with two consecutive 10-8 rounds reversed. Lopez was missing a lot, but appeared to hurt Lowe at the end of the round.
They were trading away in the fourth in an all-action affair, with Lowe having the slight edge now.
During the fifth, Lowe was still outworking Lopez, but the Mexican was connecting with the harder punches.
Lowe was connecting with solid counters in the sixth, seemingly turning the tide, but Lopez was landing good punches too. A bit wild at times, but also effective.
Lowe was still being busy but Lopez was doing better work in the seventh, pushing the Briton back by throwing plenty of punches. Then Lowe got tagged with several hard shots to the head, one that looked momentarily that he was out on his feet, and then he was down for a third time. Despite rising to his feet again, he wdidn't appear to be as eager to contnue as before, so the referee rightfully waved off the fight.
Welterweight prospect Elliot Whale (5-0, 1 KO) won a six round unanimous decision over Miroslav Serban (13-8), winning all six rounds at 60-54.
Back in action for the first time since February, but the 24-year-old hadn’t missed a step, controlling the fight from start to finish. Serban was unable to offer much back, with Whale boxing well on his way to a 60-54 points verdict on referee Lee Every’s scorecard.
Whale said: “I’m happy to be back. He was quite a durable opponent, and I’m glad to be back after a hand injury.
“I’ve got a good training team that teach me lots in the gym. I’m always learning and I’m looking forward to the future. I want to have a clean run in 2022.
“I’ve been a professional two years now but due to COVID and injuries I’ve been a bit stop start, but hopefully next year I can kick on and maybe fight for an English title.”
Former world champion Charlie Edwards (17-1, 9 KOs), now operating down at super flyweight, crushed Jacob Barreto (13-4) in the second round with a big left hand. Edwards landed solid left hook to send Barreto down for the full count. The Spaniard was unable to recover, with the referee seeing enough and calling a halt to the bout, as Edwards secured the extremely impressive win inside the distance.
Edwards said: “I’m back in style. We’ve been working on a lot of things in the gym, and I feel fit and strong. It was a great camp with Joe Gallagher and this was the first step to becoming a two-time world champion.
“York Hall is my home, I’m a Repton boy. I finished my amateur career here, and I fought here in the National Championships at 14. It makes me feel proud of myself and how far I’ve come.
“I trained for this fight like I trained for my world title fight when I beat Rosales. I’m mentally back, and with Joe we’ll go all the way. It’s one step at a time but we’re coming for another world title
“2022 will be a massive year for me, at either super-flyweight or bantamweight. Wherever the opportunities are I’m there.”
Super-welterweight prospect Inder Bassi (5-1, 0 KO) won a four round unanimous decision over Yasif Mamedov (2-7). The sole score of 40-36 was handed in. It was Bassi's second victory in a month as he banked more valuable rounds. Bassi had earned a win at York Hall back in November.
Bassi said: “I don’t think I was the best I could be, but I was happy to get the four rounds. I stepped up the gears as the fight went on and showed I was fit, but I got the win and that’s all that matters.
“He was a tough opponent, so credit to him. Speed kills, and I kept it tidy and stuck to my boxing throughout the fight. The next 12 months will be exciting, and hopefully this time next year I’ll be fighting for titles.
Welterweight prospect Shiloh 'Sugar Shy' Defreitas (2-0, 2 KOs) crushed Dario Borosa (1-17) in the first round after scoring two knockdowns with body shots.
Defreitas was back for his second fight after an extremely impressive debut in October, and the man known as ‘Sugar Shy’ picked up right where he left off, dropping Borosa with a left to the body midway through the first round. Borosa was able to recover, but Defreitas jumped straight back on him and knocked him down again with another big body shot, with the Croatian stopped this time around, as ‘Sugar Shy’ became just the third man in 18 fights to defeat Borosa inside the distance.
Defreitas said: “I’m grateful. It was a last minute opponent and I didn’t really know who I was fighting. I was going to feel him out in the first round but the body shot was there and I got it.
“I’ll fight anybody. I felt like I rushed it a bit, but I landed the right shots at the right time, so I made it an easy night’s work. In my first year as a professional I want 6 to 8 fights. I love everybody for tuning in, you’ll see lots of me so enjoy the show.”
Carl Fail (4-0, 2KOs) continued the great start to his professional career as he dropped Jose Carlos Clavero on his way to a shutout points win.
The 24-year-old southpaw from Northampton knocked down Clavero with a massive shot at the end of round one, but the tough Spaniard showed his toughness by getting back up and continuing.
Fail continued to dictate proceedings as the fight continued though, landing a number of great shots on his way to a 60-53 points win, claiming his fourth victory of 2021 in the process.
Bantamweight Nina Hughes (1-0) made her pro debut with a six round unanimous decision over Claudia Ferenczi (20-86-8). Hughes handed out a beating on Ferenczim, with right hands landing often in just about every round. Ferenczi showed her toughness and managed to last the distance, but it was a convincing win for Hughes, with the referee scoring it 60-54 in her favour.
Hughes said: “I’m so happy and over the moon to get the first one out of the way. I knew she was tough and doesn’t usually get stopped, so I knew I’d have to work hard for all six rounds.
“I want to thank everybody that bought a ticket to come and watch me, and the support was amazing. I want to push on and get a few bouts and then push for titles. Whoever gets me there the quickest I’ll fight.”
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