By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada
In the main event of the Top Rank Promotions card at the MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD, lightweight Teofimo “El Brooklyn” Lopez of Brooklyn, NY won a 12-round unanimous decision over Masayoshi Nakatani of Osaka, Japan in an IBF Elimination bout. Lopez took control of the contest in the fourth round when he landed a solid right hand to Nakatani’s face. However, Nakatani stayed in the contest and, by the ninth round, he was able to land some quality punches of his own. However, the judges didn’t seem to give Nakatani any credit for his offense. Judges David Braslow and Larry Hazzard, Jr. saw the bout 118-110 while judge Bernard Bruni scored the contest 119-109. Lopez remains undefeated at 14-0, 11 KO’s while Nakatani falls to 18-1, 12 KO’s
In the co-feature contest, lightweight Subriel Matias of Fajardo, Puerto Rico won by TKO when his opponent, Maxim Dadashev of Oxnard, CA could not come off his stool before the 12th and final round. The bout was an IBF Lightweight Elimination contest. Matias was relentless in the bout as he continuously came forward and had Dadashev going backwards. To his credit, Dadashev did land some shots but he couldn’t keep Matias away. In the 11th round, Matias landed some crushing lefts and rights to Dadashev’s head and body. When the bell rang to start the final round, Dadashev could not get off his stool. Matias remains perfect in his career, 14-0, 14 KO’s. Dadashev loses for the first time and he is 13-1, 11 KO’s.
In the final bout on the card, Hyattsville, MD lightweight Patrick “YG Pat” Harris remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Donald “Bulldog” Ward of Memphis, TN. Harris was in complete control of the contest despite suffering a cut along the left eye midway through the bout. Judges Bernard Bruni and Ron McNair scored the bout a shutout, 80-72 while Larry Hazzard, Jr. saw a 79-73 score for Harris, who is now 17-0, eight KO’s. Ward falls to 11-11-1, five KO’s.
Washington, DC middleweight fan favorite Dusty Hernandez Harrison scored a seventh-round TKO over Juan De Angel of Barranquilla, Colombia. Harrison was very poised in the bout and used a strong left jab to keep De Angel at bay. Finally in the seventh round, Harrison was able to follow his left jab with a crushing straight right hand that sent De Angel to his knees. De Angel beat referee Dave Braslow’s count but was in no condition to continue. The bout was stopped at 2:37. Harrison remains undefeated at 33-0-1, 19 KO’s. De Angel falls to 21-12-1, 19 KO’s.
Milwaukee, WI lightweight prospect Rolando Vargas scored a second-round TKO over Nathaniel “ASAP” Davis of Lusby, MD. The two boxers traded powerful shots in the first round but in the second, Vargas increased the pressure and Davis wilted. Davis never went down, but referee David Braslow saw enough to stop the bout at 1:50. Vargas is 3-0, three KO’s while Davis is 1-1, one KO.
In a heavyweight matchup, undefeated Cassius “New Wave” Chaney of New London, CT by way of Baltimore, MD hammered Joel “Quiet Storm” Caudle of Raleigh, NC to win by first-round TKO. Chaney landed powerful blows that sent Caudle stumbling all around the ring. A Chaney combination actually sent Caudle tumbling out of the ring onto the ringside tables. Caudle bravely came back into the ring but another Chaney flurry forced referee David Braslow to stop the bout at 1:52 seconds. Chaney raises his record to 16-0, 10 KO’s while Caudle drops to 8-3-2, five KO’s.
Crossville, TN middleweight Tyler “Hercules” Howard remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over veteran Jamaal “Da Truth” Davis of Philadelphia, PA. Howard was very accurate in the bout, landing solid lefts and rights to Davis’s face. Davis tried to stay in front of Howard but was unable to match Howard’s output. Judges Ron McNair and Joe Pasquale saw a shutout for Howard, 80-72 and judge John Gradowski saw the contest, 78-73. Howard is now 18-0, 11 KO’s and Davis is 18-15-1, seven KO’s.
Toledo, Ohio lightweight “The Golden Child” Tyler McCreary won a tough eight-round split decision over Jessie Cris “The VIP” Rosales of Cebu City, Philippines. Both men landed quality punches throughout the contest and traded well. McCreary was able to land more punches consistently to get the decision. Judges John Gradowski and Bernard Bruni scored the bout for McCreary, 77-75 and 78-74 respectively while judge Ron McNair saw the contest 77-75 for Rosales. McCreary raises his record to 16-0-1, seven KO’s while Rosales falls to 22-3-1, 10 KO’s.
In the opening contest at MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD, undefeated middleweight Esquiva Falcao of Vitoria, Brazil battered Jesus Gutierrez of Tijuana, Mexico over seven plus rounds on the way to an eighth-round technical knockout. Falcao, a silver medalist in the 2012 Olympics, used a strong left hand to punish the head and body of his opponent. Finally in the eighth round, a series of punches sent Gutierrez to his knees. Eventually, Falcao’s onslaught forced referee David Braslow to stop the bout at 1:35. Falcao, who is ranked seventh in the world by the WBA, WBC and IBF, is now 24-0, 16 KO’s. Gutierrez falls to 25-4-2, 12 KO’s.
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Didn’t see the Dadashev fight but wish him the best of luck and pray for his recovery, its always a tragedy when something like this happens to a anybody much less a fighter, we all know boxing is an entertainment sport with possibly deadly consequences.
The Lopez Nakatani scores sucked! I thought Lopez won the fight but ONLY by one or MAYBE two rounds. I thought he got exposed as a one show pony, if he ever fights a boxer, he’d loose easily, Loma would destroy him and Commey can beat him if he’s able to stay away from his right hand.
5 stars to Nakatami, he showed he’s got what it takes to be a top contender at that weight class and probably higher.
Lopez is a joke! I had him just barley winning 115-114. I think from now on I’m going to turn the volume OFF. Why is it that every time the house fighter struggles yet the commentary team blows up the house fighter? Lopez is, as I thought all long an over rated fighter. Even his dad is a joke, claiming to have won every round.. GTFOH! This tandem both suck major balls.
Lopez’ handlers should keep him away from Loma for a while.
Teofimo Lopez had a hard time with the height and reach of Nakatani and had to work hard for the decision. It was a lot closer than the official cards indicated with Nakatani winning about 4 of the rounds (in my opinion). My scorecard was 116-112, which I believe closely reflects the fight. Tim Bradley stated that Lopez was exposed in this fight, while Andre Ward countered that it was a learning experience in that he went 12 rounds for the first time and won the decision over a tough opponent. I think it’s a little bit of both.
Nakatani didn’t crumble under Lopez’s punches and never looked like he was seriously hurt in the fight. He used his jab effectively early in the fight and hit Lopez with clean right hands often in the first half of the fight. He forgot about the jab as the fight went on but kept throwing the fight hand but without the same accuracy as early in the fight when it was set up by the jab.
Lopez displayed some serious flaws that he will have to correct before the Richard Commey fight. He was vulnerable to the straight right hand and kept ducking to his right but staying within range of Nakatani’s long reach. He never did fully adjust to the right hands, but he was better at eluding them as the fight went on. He didn’t use his jab to set up his punches and kept winging shots, but often missing. He also didn’t stay inside and go to the body as much as I thought he would. He kept resetting and staying outside well within punching range. I really hate to see a fighter work to get inside, then go back out without throwing punches to the body. Lopez really needs to watch the film of this fight and learn from it.
Lopez fought the fight at the wrong distance and was usually within Nakatani’s punching range while having to lunge forward to land his own shots. It was a good learning experience for him in that not every opponent will be knocked out. Nakatani was there to win and gave it a great effort. He didn’t punch hard enough to hurt Lopez, but believe me, Commey’s right hand will be a lot harder. He is also very durable and can take a good shot. He took everything Lopez dished out and countered well when hit solidly. Lopez needs to do his homework before the Commey fight. He needs to use his jab to head and body a lot more to set up his punches. He didn’t often do that and missed a lot with his left hooks and lead rights.
While Commey does not have a height advantage, he does have the longer reach and has a good shot to stop Lopez in their match. Whether or not Lopez can shore up his weaknesses before that fight remains to be seen. I tend to dismiss Lopez’s father’s comments because they are often biased and inaccurate. Lopez himself knows that he didn’t perform well tonight. Nakatani was a good test but didn’t land enough clean blows to win. I look forward to the Commey fight, assuming it can be made after this fight.
The Japanese fighter was an unknown quantity so we didn’t know what he had to offer Lopez, but we saw it last night. I didn’t need to see this fight tonight to know that the overrated Lopez was not ready for the elite at 135 and will never be ready for lomachenko. From what I saw last night, Lopez gets knocked out by Commie. Since his poor trainer of a father does not recognize his son’s deficiencies, it is doubtful that he will change what he needs to in time. Lopez will have to lose very soon for him to realize that he needs to dump his dad and get a real trainer.
Why are we unable to find the Lopez Nakatani full fight card replay on ESPN+ On Demand? I can only find the weigh in and undercard.
lopez was expose in this fight.he better be ready in then title fight.
These previous comments are rough! Teofimo goes 12 rounds for the first time in his young career and is getting called exposed? Sure, he can tighten up his defense and Commey appears to hit harder than the Japanese challenger, but can the reigning lightweight champ handle Lopez’ power? Kudos to Nakatani for showing grit, toughness and a sturdy chin. Commey vs. Lopez should be explosive.