Featherweight

Hozumi Hasegawa 29(12)-3, the WBC featherweight champion, is Japan's most famous boxer.

Many often refer to him as the Pride of Japan, much like Manny Pacquiao is the Pride of the Philippines.

This Friday, April 8, Hasegawa is set to defend his new WBC featherweight title against the heavy-handed Jhonny Gonzalez 47(41)-7 for the first time since winning in spectacular fashion against Juan Carlos Burgos in November.

Hasegawa traded and got caught with some big shots from Burgos, but was able to shake them off in their featherweight championship fight.

This may indicate that Hasegawa may have been weight drained at the lower weight class of bantamweight. He has spent most of his career here and was knocked out by then pound-for-pound ranked bantamweight champion, Fernando Montiel.

Hozumi can be seen all over television, magazine covers and newspapers in Japan when his fights are happening.

Many people of Japan are not only fans of his exciting yet technically-sound fighting style, but they also admire him for taking care of his mother, who had been suffering from cancer until her recent death.

He would use the boxing purses from his fights to provide his mother with the best medical attention and cancer treatment that money can buy.

Much of the public in Japan loved him for doing so.

With the recent tragedy of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, a boxing hero like their very own Hasegawa could possibly lift some spirits—giving the people something to be inspired by and proud of, or at least be entertained or distracted by.

This columnist has decided to put his money where his mouth is and help out the Japan disaster relief.  I have located certain Costcos that have Japan disaster relief collection bins and whenever I go to these Costcos I donate as much as I can, as you can see as evidence in the article's photo. I encourage you too to donate what you can in your local communities where they are collecting for Japan.

The tragedy hits rather close to me for I was in Hawaii when it happened. We were also hit by a much smaller benign tsunami later that night. The whole island was in utter fear as all the businesses were shut down, all the gas stations had hour long waits to fill their tanks up, and most intimidating was the fact that all cell phones and even land lines were not working.

I know what we experienced was nothing at all in comparison to what the unfortunate people of Japan faced and still are facing, but we did see a glimpse of what seemed like an end of the world feeling for that night.

Will Hasegawa be victorious against Gonzalez Friday in Kobe, Japan? Well, we shall see. 

At this point, it seems Japan needs its heroes now more than ever, so let's all do what we can to help.

I encourage everyone reading this to give what ever you can to help the disaster relief in Japan. The 9.0 earthquake and tsunami has claimed the lives of almost 30,000 people and rising.

Also, you can of course Text REDCROSS to 90999 to Donate $10 to Red Cross.

Anything you can do helps out. Even if it is just a few dollars, we should all do what we can to help.

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Yuriorkis Gamboa remembers so well the time when he defected from Cuba while he was training in Venezuela. He had given Cuba national pride with all his amateur achievements.

However, he felt it was the time that he follows his own dream. He wanted to be a professional boxing champion and most especially he wanted to give his family a better life. He would never be what he is now if he hadn’t moved out.

Nineteen fights later, Gamboa is one of the biggest names in the featherweight division, just at par with his equally talented nemesis Juan Manuel Lopez. Together they are the two Ying Yang that had dominated this division.

Gamboa has long been waiting that someday their paths will cross. However, he understands it will happen when the right time comes. A fight of this magnitude needs a massive marketing campaign, and to make this fight so compelling he would have to do his part.

And that is what boxers are paid to do…fight.

Jorge Solis may not be a household name to boxing fans. However, he fought Manny Pacquiao four years ago for eight rounds. He is three inches taller than Gamboa and knows how to use his jab. 

Solis, who normally fights in the super featherweight division, is going down to featherweight to face Gamboa. This is not an easy fight for Gamboa, but this is what he really wants.

This is the road or the path that he wanted to take. While others take the easy route, for him, he wanted every challenge—every difficulty he wants to encounter. Every fight is always a preparation for the bigger fight ahead.

He knows that the well-prepared fighters make fights.

When Rogers Mtagwa almost dominated Juanma, he wanted to know and feel Mtagwa’s power. It was the fight he wanted to take and took only two rounds to disposed Rogers way back in 2010 with Lopez as his co-header fighting the light-hitting Steven Luevano.

While Lopez is fighting Orlando Salido in April (the same fighter Gamboa fought and won last year), Gamboa is going to dangerous waters again against a solid contender in Solis.

It has been quite a journey since Gamboa defected against Cuba. He knows his speed and power could take him to greater heights, but he feels he still has a lot of things to prove.

Juanma is slowly becoming a complete fighter, and he wanted to fight him with all bases covered. Yes, this is becoming a waiting game, but Gamboa is in no rush. One fight at a time…with another base to cover before that one big swing.

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It's becoming a common trend for the month of March. Undefeated fighters at the top of their divisions will be defending their undefeated records this weekend, including one of the most physically gifted athletes in the entire sport, Yuriorkis Gamboa.

The 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Gamboa (19-0, 15 KO), hopes to do what his Cuban teammate, Odlanier Solis, couldn't do last weekend, and that's keep his perfect record. Solis was also awarded an Olympic gold medal in 2004.

Gamboa's opponent, Jorge Solis (40-2-2, 29 KO), isn't as huge of a task as Odlanier Solis had to undertake in trying to defeat the Ukrainian giant Vitali Klitschko, but the featherweight division is much deeper and being led by WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (30-0, 27 KO).

Solis went 3-0 in 2010 with wins over Likar Ramos, Mario Santiago and Francisco Codero. His two losses came against Manny Pacquiao and Cristobal Cruz.

The March 26 fight, which will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, will be Gamboa's fifth appearance on HBO.

Also that day, WBO middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog (17-0, 14 KO) will make his first appearance since handing Daniel Jacobs his first defeat on the undercard of the Juan Diaz vs. Juan Manuel Marquez PPV. Pirog became a quick candidate for 2010 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year when he knocked Jacobs out in the fifth round.

Pirog will be taking on Argentinian-born fighter Javier Francisco Maciel (18-1, 12 KO) in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Maciel was 4-0 in 2010, but has never fought outside Argentina.

With a victory, Pirog will look for future fights with top-five opponents in the middleweight division. He is currently ranked seventh in the division by Ring Magazine.

The 2004 amateur welterweight world champion, Erislandy Lara (15-0, 10 KO), will make an appearance on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights on Friday, March 25.

The Cuban southpaw fighter will take a step up in facing Carlos Molina (17-4, 5 KO) in the co-main event. The main event will be Yudel Johnson (9-0) vs. Richard Gutierrez (26-5).

Updates on the fights will be posted for each event, so be sure to check back during the weekend for all the latest results.

This Saturday night, HBO's Boxing After Dark along with Bob Arum's Top Rank, Arena Box and Caesars Atlantic City will present "Featherweight Fury," a triple-header of featherweight title matches taking place at Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.

The main event and co-main event of Yuriorkis Gamboa (19-0, 15 KOs) vs. Jorge Solis (40-2-2, 29 KOs) and Matt Remillard (23-0, 13 KOs) vs. Mikey Garcia (24-0, 20 KOs) will be televised on HBO Boxing After Dark starting at 9:45pm EST.

The third featherweight match-up that will not be televised will feature Jorge Diaz (15-0, 9 KOs) vs. Teon Kennedy (16-0-1, 7 KOs).

Cuban boxing sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa from Guantanamo, Cuba, now residing in Miami, Florida, will be defending his WBA Featherweight (126lbs) and IBF Featherweight (126lbs) titles against Interim WBA Super Featherweight (130lbs) champion Jorge Solis of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Mexican ring veteran of 44 bouts, Solis will be coming down in weight from super featherweight (130lbs) to featherweight (126lbs) to take on Gamboa of 19 pro fights.

Gamboa, 29, has over 250 amateur bouts under his belt and won a 2004 Olympic gold medal at flyweight (112lbs), will be tested by Solis, who had an amateur record of 33-3.

Since turning pro, Solis has 29 knockouts, a 64 percent ratio, in 40 victories.

Solis has more professional boxing experience—272 rounds boxed over Gamboa's 85 rounds as a pro.

Gamboa, who has a 79 percent knockout ratio (15 in 19 bouts), has landed on the canvas on four previous occasions: against Orlando Salido last September, Marcos Ramirez October 2008, Darling Jimenez May 2008 and Adailton De Jesus October 2007.

It will be interesting to see if the 31-year-old Solis can be the one to take down Gamboa and come out victorious, as others have not been able to do.

Solis has a lot of experience in tough matches, including an eight round KO defeat to Manny Pacquiao in 2007.

Solis, already in Atlantic City, has stated that him and his team have "analyzed Gamboa's strengths and weaknesses and plan to decrease his speed with blows to the body," thus reducing his hand speed.

Gamboa has been noted as having one of the quickest hands in the game.

Gamboa won't go down and out easily, as he has overcome a lot in life and boxing. In Cuba before defecting in 2007, he sold his Olympic gold medal in order to have a birthday party for his daughter.

A legend as an amateur boxer, Gamboa dreams, hopes and aspires of becoming equally as good and better as a professional boxer.

Gamboa also has a lot in stake against Solis; he must win in order to face a future showdown with Puerto Rican star Juan Manual Lopez (30-0, 27 KOs). Lopez will be defending his WBO featherweight title, on April 16 against Orlando Salido (34-11-1, 22 KOs).

This Saturday night for "Featherweight Fury" HBO Sports will have Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. at ringside broadcasting. HBO Latino will also be broadcasting the event in Spanish.

Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $50, are available at the Boardwalk Hall Box Office or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com

On Saturday March 26, Bob Arum's Top Rank, along with Arena Box and Caesars Atlantic City, will present "Featherweight Fury," a tripleheader of featherweight title matches taking place at Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.

The main event and co-main event of Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Jorge Solis and Matt Remillard vs. Mikey Garcia will be televised on HBO After Dark. The third featherweight matchup that will not be televised will feature Jorge Diaz vs. Teon Kennedy.

Cuban boxing sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa (19-0,15 KO) of Miami, Fl will be defending his WBA Super World Featherweight (126 lbs) title and IBF featherweight (126lbs) title against interim WBA super featherweight (130lbs) champion Jorge Solis (40-2-2, 29 KO) of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Mexican ring veteran of 44 bouts Solis will be coming down in weight from super featherweight (130 pounds) to featherweight (126 pounds) to take on Gamboa of 19 pro fights.

Gamboa, 29, has over 250 amateur bouts under his belt and a 2004 Olympic gold medal at flyweight (112 pounds). He will be tested by Solis, who has 29 knockouts in 40 victories.

Gamboa, who has a 79 percent knockout ratio (15 in 19 bouts), has landed on the canvas on four previous occasions—against Orlando Salido last September, Marcos Ramirez October 2008, Darling Jimenez May 2008 and Adailton De Jesus October 2007.

It will be interesting to see if 31-year-old Solis can be the one to take down Gamboa and come out victorious as others have not been able to. He has a lot of experience in tough matches, including an eighth round KO defeat to Manny Pacquiao in 2007.

Gamboa has a lot on stake in this matchup. If he wins, he has a future showdown against Puerto Rican star Juan Manual Lopez (30-0, 27 KO), which will be defending his WBO featherweight title, on April 16.

The much anticipated featherweight showdown between Puerto Rican Juan Manual Lopez and Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa should take place this year, 2011, late summer or fall.

If you recall, both fighters, which are promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank, were suppose to tangle in 2010.

On January 23 of 2010 at Madison Square Garden, Juanma Lopez (30-0, 27 KO's) picked up the WBO World featherweight title by defeating Steven Luevano (37-1-1) by TKO in the seventh round. On the undercard the same night, Yuriorkis Gamboa (19-0,15 KO's) defended his WBA World featherweight title by second round TKO over Rogers Mtagwa (26-13-2).

Arum had mentioned that after there respected separate bouts in New York that night they would meet by the end of the year 2010. It never happened.

This fight needs to happen soon, as both fighters are at there prime—Juanma is 27 while Gamboa is 29. They are exceptionally talented and exciting as they can be knocked down and come back to knock out there opponent.

These two fighters are presently the best in the featherweight division, which Puerto Rico and Cuba have to offer.

Juanma started boxing when he was 10 years old, had an amateur record of 126-24 and competed in the 2004 Olympics for Puerto Rico. As a pro, he has taken on all comers, most recently stopping Mexican legend Rafael Marquez (39-5-0) in the eight round (didn't answer bell) on November 6, 2010.

Prior to that, he defeated by TKO in the second round Filipino Bernabe Concepcion (28-3-1) on July 10, 2010.

Bob Arum already has a scheduled date of April 16, 2011 in Puerto Rico for Juanma to defend his WBO World featherweight title—unfortunately, it won't be against Gamboa.

Rumor has it that it will be the former WBA super bantamweight interim champion, Panamanian Ricardo Cordoba (37-3-2), on Showtime.

Gamboa, the IBF/WBA featherweight world champion, which could be said has the quickest hands in boxing, has had over 250 amateur bouts and won the Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics at flyweight representing Cuba.

Since his defection from Cuba in December, 2006, he has impressed by defeating top veterans like Orlando Salido (34-10-2) in his last bout on September 11, 2010 and other formidable opponents such as Rogers Mtagwa, mentioned earlier, and Al Seeger, Johnnie Edwards and Adailton De Jesus.

Rumors out there have it that HBO has agreed on a fight between Gamboa and Jason Litzau (28-2, 21 KO's) in a date to be determined later. I reached out to Gamboa and Litzau via facebook. Litzau responded that that it was "just rumors," nothing concrete, while Gamboa has not responded yet.

A Gamboa-Litzau matchup might put a Juanma-Gamboa showdown in jeopardy, as "The American Boy," Litzau, is capable of pulling an upset like he did to Celestino Caballero (34-2-0) back on November 27, 2010.

Whatever happens, I feel Bob Arum of Top Rank must make this fight between Juanma and Gamboa happen soon, or we might not see it at all.

Let's keep our fingers crossed—hopefully it will happen in summer or fall of 2011.

According to a press release for the Juan Carlos Burgos (25-0, 12 KOs, WBC No. 1) vs. Hozumi Hasegawa (28-3, 12 KOs, WBC No. 2) fight final press conference, which was held this morning for their upcoming WBC Featherweight Championship fight taking place Friday in Nagoya, Japan. Both fighters are ready to fight and have immense respect for one another.

Hasegawa, the hottest rising star out of Japan, was on the fast track to becoming the next big Asian superstar fighter after Manny Pacquiao, until he was stopped by Fernando Montiel in their April bantamweight title fight.

With this big loss to Montiel, the recent passing of his mother and his going up two whole weight divisions, Hasegawa has a lot to prove and fight for on Friday against Burgos.

Here are some quotes from the final press conference:

Juan Carlos Burgos

About His Arrival to Japan and His Preparation for the Fight

"I am happy to be in Japan, they have treated my team and me nicely and made us
feel at home. This has been a tough camp for me since I really made the necessary
effort to be ready for a world title fight, but it was a great training camp and I have to thank my team for getting me fight ready."

His Thoughts on Hasegawa and the Fight Itself

"To me Hasegawa is like any other fighter: two legs, two feet, two hands and one
head. But he has a huge heart. I know that because he recently lost his mother and
I take my hat off to him for never backing down from this fight.

He is an inspiration to us all for doing something like that and I have expressed my deepest condolences to him and his family, but at the end of the day we are both professional boxers and we must compete."

"I have all the desire to become world champion and Hasegawa will not shatter my dream. He won't take that away from me. I have waited my whole life for an opportunity like this and it's only a matter of hours until I can make it a reality."

About the Fans and the Type of Fight He Expects

"Hasegawa was a great bantamweight champion but I want to leave a lasting impression
in Japan. I want to show the fans that I can be a great boxer and I want to impress
them. I know that having a name on my resume like Hasegawa's will speak volumes
of me and I can guarantee to those attending the event that we will give them their
monies worth."

Hozumi Hasegawa

About His Preparation and His Opponent Juan Carlos Burgos

"Training was great, tough and arduous. I long to have the green belt around my
waist once again (Hasegawa lost his WBC bantamweight title to Fernando Montiel on
4-30-10), chances like this don't come around too often. I am happy."

"I know Burgos is brave and strong like all Mexican fighters but I am also brave and I have a big heart. I will show in on Friday night and I will take the belt back and keep it to myself."

About His Family and His Mother

"After my last fight my family was not happy with the result and the sport but I have to show my daughter that I am strong and show my wife my will power. I am not thinking about my mother right now. I am thinking about the fight."

Television Information

The Burgos vs. Hasegawa WBC Featherweight Championship, presented by Teiken Promotions in association with Thompson Boxing Promotions and Banner Promotions, will air live in Mexico on Friday, November 27 on SKY SPORTS at approximately 1:00 AM (Mexico City local time) 3:00 AM (Tijuana/PST time).

On the same card, Vitali Tajbert (20-1, six KOs) will face No. 2 ranked former world champion Takahiro Aoh (19-2-1, nine KOs) for the WBC Super Featherweight Title.

SKY is the biggest Mexican cable provider with two million subscribers in the country,
plus operations in Central America (including Panama), and the Caribbean.

The fight will be broadcast in standard definition and HD for free to the entire
subscriber base via SkySports (channel 501SD and channel 1501HD).

Burgos vs. Hasegawa will air live, as an international feed at (GMT time—local time). In addition, SKY will repeat the entire broadcast of the fight with SAP audio on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. (Check your local listings for exact times)

This past Saturday was action-packed and had a lot of exciting fights. Now that I have had the chance to take a breath and dissect it all, I have one question. What does it all mean?

We start with the surprising knockout win for Glencoffe Johnson. I thought he would win the fight and he did just that. The knockout surprised me a whole lot and got me excited.

At first this knockout win of the underwhelming but strong-chinned Allan Green had me thinking Johnson is the automatic favorite to win the Super Six now. On second thought, not so fast.

He looked good and the weight loss didn’t seem to affect him at all. I thought he looked a lot more agile, and he just looked like he had a extra spring in his step.

He landed the right hand all night long and his work rate looked about the same as normal. He wobbled Green on more than one occasion and landed two beautiful shots to end the fight.

With that being said, if this fight went the distance, his chances of winning would have been about 50-50. He wasn’t beating Green badly and without wobbling him in a few rounds, he would have been far behind.

At the time of the stoppage he was behind on two cards. I have a hard time placing Johnson in the mix as far as the Super Six goes. He is a handful for anyone but can he beat a better fighter than Green at this point?

The Sakio Bika fight will tell us how Andre Ward deals with rough fighters like Johnson and that will give us a better idea of how Ward would handle Johnson.

A fight with Arthur Abraham would be highly interesting and a fight with Carl Froch would probably be exciting but really ugly. It's pretty clear Johnson shouldn’t be the favorite but he is a very live dog.

The Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez fight is now the Fight Of The Year frontrunner and was a hell of a scrap. They went back and forth, and they left nothing back in the ring.

What we learned from this fight was Lopez is that special type of fighter that leaves it all in the ring every time he fights and isn’t afraid to take a chance to go for a knockout.

He is truly an elite fighter and has swayed my opinion as far as a fight between him and Yuriorkis Gamboa goes. After that brawl last night it is clear he will do anything to win and can take a massive punch.

He doesn’t always have the smartest game plan and it gets him into trouble, but he is fun to watch. More importantly we learned Marquez has a lot left in the tank.

He was fighting above his best weight and had Lopez hurt and if it wasn’t for a referee timeout to take a point away from Lopez he may well have knocked Lopez out.

On HBO, Zab Judah eked his way to a very close win over the tough, powerful, but limited Lucas Matthysse. It remains to be seen, but it appears Judah isn’t the fighter he once was.

He looked slow and was getting hit often and not responding well to it at all. He could have over trained, but his next fight out will tell us a lot about him.

In my favorite result of the night, perennial underdog Gilberto Keb Baas (34-20-4 21 KO) upset Omar Nino for the WBC light flyweight title.

Interestingly enough, this was the second time he beat Nino in the pro ranks. He upset Nino earlier in his career when he was an unbeaten prospect. This was his third shot to win the title and he took advantage.

At 33 years old, he becomes a titlist and he has the most losses of any title holder by six losses. This proves that on the right night any fighter can win and take home a title. Congratulations to Gilberto Keb Baas.

This was originally written for and published on www.kissingthecanvas.com. 

It's main event time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as we get set for a featherweight title fight between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez. Several boxing and MMA stars are in attendance, including Lucian Bute, Shane Mosley, Felix Trinidad, Frank Shamrock and Dan Henderson.

Jimmy Lennon Jr. announces Marquez as he makes his way out to traditional Mexican music. The two-division champ is 39-5 with 35 KOs, and he's looking to stay at the top of the sport after closing out his epic series with Israel Vazquez in decisive fashion in May. Al Bernstein thinks more of the crowd is on his side.

Lopez has his share of supporters as well, and they sound off as he does his ring walk. Juanma sports a perfect 29-0 record with 26 stoppage wins, and though he has his share of doubters thanks to some shaky defense at times, there's no doubting his electrifying offensive ability.

The tale of the tape shows that the two fighters are virtually identical in height, reach and weight. Marquez is eight years older though, and has come up in weight quite a bit over the last few years.

Tony Weeks is the referee for this bout. Lennon handles the official introductions in his typically classy fashion, and we are ready for a scheduled 12 rounds of boxing for the WBO featherweight belt.

Round One

Marquez flicks out jabs and the fans are into it already. Juanma looks for a right hook and a straight left. Lots of feinting in the middle of the ring. Marquez tries to flurry that ends with a left hook. Both men score at close range. Rafa goes off balance as he tries to throw a combination. Nice right hand by Lopez. Marquez lands a little left and ducks away. Lopez lands the last hard shot and smiles as he walks away.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Two

The announcers seem to think Marquez felt Juanma's power during that last exchange. Right hook by Lopez coming in. Short shots by Juanma as he advances. Weeks warns about hitting behind the head. Here comes some trading as both men land hooks. Lopez gets the better of it and pushes Rafa back. Marquez tries some jabs, but they aren't enough to keep Lopez off of him. Rafa reaches to land a right hand.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez

Round Three

Marquez lands the first clean shot of this frame, but Lopez answers right back. Rafa connects with a left hook as they stand in the center of the ring. Lopez swings and misses and gets nailed with left hooks. Weeks has to step in and lecture the fighters about leading with their heads. A left hand stumbles Marquez, but he responds with a right hand to show he's not hurt. Juanma fires in another left hand, then almost catches Rafa behind the head. Very close round there.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez

Round Four

Both men are complaining about the other's tactics, and Lopez punches Marquez while he's appealing to the ref. They stand and trade with shots landing both ways. Juanma lands about three left hands in a row coming forward. Weeks stays busy separating the boxers from numerous clinches. Left hook by Marquez and Lopez is wobbly. He pounds his gloves together but Marquez is landing more shots. Weeks calls time for a shot behind the head from Lopez, and Juanma loses a point. The crowd reacts as they battle for the last 24 seconds of the frame.

Tylwalk: 10-8 Marquez

Round Five

Lopez looks like he's got the cobwebs cleared up right now. Left hooks land both ways, and both men felt them. Weeks lectures Lopez again, but Marquez is somewhat to blame for ducking his head so low every time they get close. More hooks are flying, but Marquez is more accurate right now. Juanma tries some body shots but gets whacked upstairs by Rafa. Wild swings by both men are off the mark.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Marquez

Round Six

Juanma scores first with a right hand. He goes to the body and head and stumbles Marquez just a bit. Lopez just misses with big left hands. Juanma clubs his way forward behind the left hand, forcing his foe to back up a step. Marquez is still having success with his hooks, but Lopez is mugging him with lefts and uppercuts. Three shots in a row crash home for Lopez, though Marquez bravely stands his ground.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez

Round Seven

Lopez comes right out and gets on top of Marquez. He's landing multiple punches a lot more often than at the beginning of the fight. Juanma looks like he got away with holding and hitting for a few seconds. Marquez gets strafed with two right hooks, but he pulls a left hook out of nowhere. Lopez pours in body shots and uppercuts. Marquez is getting pounded but he still has strength to throw left hooks back. Weeks interrupts but it's only a temporary respite for Rafa. Big round for Juanma.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez

Round Eight

You know Marquez is going to battle until the end, and he's still firing. Juanma opens up with hooks from both hands. Marquez tries the body but receives two shots upstairs in return. Lopez is finding a home for the uppercut on a regular basis. He's also taking extra care not to hit Marquez while his head is down. They battle in the corner with Lopez delivering uppercuts and Marquez countering with left hooks. Great action as they lean on each other and trade power shots.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez

Marquez doesn't answer the bell for Round Nine, holding his right shoulder as he walks out of his corner. Be that as it may, it's all over, and Lopez is triumphant.

The winner by TKO at the beginning of Round Nine... and still WBO featherweight titleholder... Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lopez.

Showtime plays the audio from the Marquez corner between rounds, and he did tell his trainer he could not move his right shoulder. Weeks advised him that if he could not defend himself, the fight would be stopped, but Rafa said he could not go.

Jim Gray gets both fighters together in the ring. Marquez says through his trainer that his shoulder was bothering him even before the fight and just got worse as things went on. He felt by the third round he had trouble throwing right hands.

Lopez responds that he felt his opponent's punches so he didn't suspect any injuries. Juanma admits he was stunned in the fourth round by some big punches.

Asked about a rematch, Marquez definitely is game, and Lopez suggests they do it in Puerto Rico. Bob Arum is okay with that but feels Rafa would have to heal up first. He plans for Lopez to fight in Puerto Rico in early 2011 and then take on Yuriorkis Gamboa in the summer.

Nick Tylwalk is the editor and co-founder of BoxingWatchers.com. Follow his Twitter feed @Nick_Tylwalk or the site's feed @boxing_watchers.