A Pair of Surprise Knockouts Highlight Recent ShoBox Event

Added on Oct 04, 2010 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

The fact that Tim Coleman had registered only four knockouts going into his bout with Patrick Lopez along with Archie Ray Marquez’ opponent in Juan Santiago never being knocked down, it appeared that both Showtime televised bouts would ultimately be going the scheduled distance. Such was not the case as both Coleman and Marquez both scored stoppage wins in the third round of their respective bouts.

In the main event, both “The Pit Bull” Coleman and Lopez came out firing some hard but wild shots. Once their adrenaline subsided, they soon settled down and began to feel eachother out. As the round progressed Coleman began to find an edge by patiently countering the older Lopez. Lopez finished off the round with a solid left but wasn’t enough to win him the round.

Coleman opened up the second round with a huge right hand that floored Lopez for only the second time in his career. While it looked impressive it would prove to be nothing more than a flash knockdown. As planned, Coleman controlled the conter of the ring. Lopez started to find some success working the body of Coleman, briefly backing him up to the ropes. Coleman finished off strong to solidify his 10-8 round.

Both combatants came out with a furious pace early on in the third round. Coleman began to punish Lopez for over committing to his shots with counters of his own. Coleman displayed a sturdy beard as he shook off some impressive shots by Lopez. The crowd at the Chumash Casino Resort began to display their affection with chants for Coleman which were soon answered when Lopez threw a straight left and then ran into an absolute murderous counter right uppercut that sent Lopez crashing to the canvas with just a minute left in the round. Lopez would get up to beat the count on shaky legs that ultimately betrayed him as he proceeded to stumble face first into his corner at which time referee David Mendoza waved the bout off at the 2:13 mark.

The impressive knockout moved Coleman’s record to 18-1-1 with 7 KOs and 1-0 in his reunion with famed trainer Roger Mayweather. The USBA jr. welterweight champ moves closer to a top ten ranking with a win over Lopez who was previously ranked in the tenth slot by the World Boxing Association.

“Since my move down in weight I’ve got more comfortable,” Coleman said. “I listened to Roger. He told me to hit the body and then land the uppercut. He told me to come straight at him, and I did. He said I needed to go for him or I’d miss the opportunity to knock him out.”

Lopez was admittedly surprised by the game plan displayed by his opponent. “I thought he would be backing up, backing up,” Lopez said. “I was surprised he was so aggressive. I didn’t see it (right uppercut) coming at all. He caught me.”

Also among those surprised was ringside announcer Steve Farhood. “He (Coleman) had four career knockouts going in, but, after watching what we just saw, that’s unbelievable,” Farhood said. “I think if he was fighting at 140 pounds the whole time he’d have many more knockouts.”

In the co-feature of the evening Albuquerque’s brightest prospect in recent memory, Archie Ray Marquez, got off to a relatively slow start as Santiago found success early landing often and throwing at a higher rate. Marquez began to find his rhythm mid-way through the round as both men engaged in some memorable exchanges. Marquez finished strong to conclude a very close opening round.

Just as in the first stanza, Santiago opened up strong. Marquez would land a low blow and without any previous warning from referee Ray Corona was promptly deducted a point. Now fighting with a sense of urgency, Marquez began to hurt Santiago. Santiago would stand his ground and both fighters would throw toe-to-toe. Marquez gained the upperhand when he floored Santiago for the first time in his career at the end of a very eventful round.

Like a shark sensing blood in the water, Marquez picked up where hi left off in the previous round. He immediately connected and pushed Santiago up against the ropes where he unloaded with a flurry of rapid fire shots until it was appropriately waved off just eleven seconds into the the round.

The win for Marquez was just what he needed following his lay off stemming from hand surgery earlier in the year. While he still finds himself in legal trouble outside of the ring, he can take solace in the fact that he’s back in fine form inside of it.

“I had him finished against the ropes,” Marquez said. “He couldn’t fight back. The ref did the right thing to end it. I felt sharp (after the layoff) and it was the strongest camp I’ve ever had.”

“I think it was called very quickly,” a disappointed Santiago said. “I wasn’t hurt at all – I was covering myself. He caught me with a right hook, but I was good to continue.”

While Santiago and Lopez weren’t pleased with the results Gary Shaw Productions promoted event in Santa Ynez, it’s safe to assume that just about everyone else was.

“This is why they fight the fights,” Farhood said. “On paper, it looked like two distance fights. But both winners fought more aggressively than we’re used to seeing. The power they displayed was a pleasant surprise.”