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11/17/2007 Archived Entry: "Lopez Pummels, but Fails to Stop Toribio, Gonzalez Edges Beranza in Cicero!"
Lopez Pummels, but Fails to Stop Toribio, Gonzalez Edges Beranza in Cicero!
By Juan C. Ayllon at ringside
Photos by Thomas Mathis
David Lopez (left) jars David Turbio with a left
CICERO, Ill.—It looked like a man in the ring with an upstart teenager. But, this youngster could fight—a bit.
In one corner, David “Destroyer” Lopez, 29, had a thick black mustache, shaved head, hairy chest and the physique of a man accustomed to hard manual labor. In the other, David Toribio, 27, sported a soft-looking hairless torso, braided back hair and a fashionable pencil thin beard running along his jaw line, suggesting a lifestyle more accustomed to urban night life and fast cars.
Last March, Lopez won the World Boxing Council Latino Middleweight title over dangerous Rocky Montoya (29-1 and 20 KO’s) when the latter retired in his corner in the sixth round. In June 2006, Lopez knocked out rugged Epifanio Mendoza (24-3 with 23 KO’s) in the seventh to win the Interim NABF Middleweight title. Granted, Lopez had been stopped in 12 against former World Boxing Organization Middleweight champ Fulgencio Zuniga when fighting for Zuniga’s IBO Middleweight crown in January 2005, but surely, at 32-12 with 21 knockouts, he was not one to be trifled with.
As for Toribio, his mashed nose and the crag lines on his forehead betrayed the fact that he’d fought young lions like Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Edouard, James Kirkland, Oscar Diaz and David Estrada in compiling a deceptive record of 14-9 with 9 knockouts.
And thus in workman like fashion, Lopez set about the task of adding Toribio to his knockout victims, while Toribio frustrated his efforts by turning, leaning away, firing occasional hard shots and tying up for the better part of 10 rounds. The kid was tougher than he looked.
Toribio lands a right to Lopez' chest
In the second round, a stalking Lopez dug a hard straight left to Toribio’s stomach. Retreating, Toribio caught Lopez with occasional straight rights to the head. It was a good thing for Lopez that Toribio wasn’t a banger, as he was catching him with right hands to the head whenever he threw them. Turibio planted a straight right into Lopez’ abdomen an had his head snapped back by a right jab. Firing back, Toribio snaps Lopez’ head back with another stiff right, but is jarred with a heavy right jab-straight left combination. Toribio shook his head, “No,” implying the shots didn’t hurt him. Coming on, Lopez dug a hard straight left to Toribio’s midsection.
Moments into the third round, Lopez slammed a left hook to the head of Toribio. It had “Good night” written all over it. Thankfully for Toribio, his right glove—which covered the right side of his face—absorbed the blow. A right followed and a left hook to the jaw knocked Toribio back several steps. A hard right jab snapped Toribio’s head back. A ripping left raked Toribio’s stomach. Thumping right jabs bounced off his head and chest. A left jarred. A right hook nearly dropped Toribio and a right forced Toribio to hold. Another hard right jab nearly dropped Toribio yet again. Slugging back for survival, Toribio’s continence was ashen with concern, as if to say, “I’m in over my head.” At the bell, Lopez walked back to his corner with an all-business look about his face.
In the fourth, Lopez jarred with a hard left hook to the head following a right that landed low. Ticked off, Toribio attacked with jabs and hard rights, backing Lopez up. His success was short lived, as Lopez resumed the attack—two lefts to the body, one to the head, and a jarring right jab. Lopez was knocking Toribio backwards with hard jabs. Toribio attacked with two and three punch bursts and held. Wrestling on the inside, Toribio scored a single left, then a right to the head. He continued to punch and hold.
Early in the fifth, loud cheers erupted from the crowd when a right hook smacked Toribio’s head loudly. Toribio smiled. However, he was taking punishment. On the retreat, he covered and fired back in short bursts to keep Lopez at bay. A low left-right combination around the beltline area contorted Toribio’s face with pain.
Intervening, referee Genaro Rodriguez deducted one point.
Resuming, Lopez dug a hard left to Toribio’s stomach. Defiant, Toribio held his arms out and taunted Lopez, then fired a straight right that Lopez ducked under. A pair of lefts to the head were partially blocked by Toribio at the bell. Smiling, he walked back to his corner. He’d survived, after all.
In the seventh, Lopez bounced a heavy left hook off Toribio’s jaw and another scored along the ropes. Lopez swarmed. Torribio collapsed with the delayed effect of another blow, clutching Lopez’ legs to avoid hitting the canvas. Holding some more, his head cleared sufficiently to take a straight right well when trapped in a corner at rounds end.
A heavy right hook by Lopez landed hard to the side left side of Toribio’s head early in the eighth round. Toribio covered and turned his head sideways to avoid or ride out some of the force of follow up blows. He launched single hard lefts and rights and held. Restless for a knockout, the crowd whistled and yelled something in Spanish. A potent left-right combination stunned Toribio, who clutched, recovered and retreated.
It was target practice for Lopez in the ninth. He scored with hard right jabs, straight lefts and hooks up and down. For his part, Toribio continued pulling away, ducking, and turning to absorb whatever landed.
Lopez continued his quest for a knockout in the tenth, but it wasn’t working. A heavy right caromed off Toribio’s head. Again Toribio shook his head, “No.” A pair of left hooks to the face forced Toribio to hold.
Dissatisfied, many in the crowd boo at the conclusion of the bout. All judges scored the bout 99-90 for Lopez, who won unanimously.
Lopez, who hails from Nogales Sonora, weighed in at 159.5 lbs., while Villa Gonzalez, Dominican Republic’s David Toribio weighed in at 162.
Gonzalez (right) digs a right to Beranza's side as referee Celestino Ruiz looks on
With both fighters hailing from Mexico City, Mexico, former WBO Bantamweight champion, Jhonny Gonzalez (123 lbs., 34-6, 29 KO’s), edged feisty Jose Beranza (120 lbs., 30-10-2, 25 KO’s) over 10 rounds.
As would be the pattern of the fight, air whooshed from the nose of Beranza—who wore a look of apprehension on his face—in the first, bouncing and circling on his toes. Gonzalez, who appeared more relaxed and favored pivoting from ring center, conserved his energy and simply stepped forward to attack and back to negate the effects of Beranza’s lunging blows. Still, Beranza was the busier fighter, jumping in behind flurries and skittering out in the first and second rounds.
In the second, Gonzalez opened up more, pumping the jab and throwing single hooks. The shorter Beranza jumped in with two and three punch bursts, while Gonzalez fired a hard jab, odd rights and hooks. Beranza caught him with a hook and scurried out. Suddenly, Gonzalez was caught with a hard hook to jaw—was this a sign of things to come?
Beranza initiated round three with a stiff straight right. Gonzalez tagged him with a left hook as Beranza, who swung and missed and stumbled off balance to the ropes. Gonzalez was stalking now. Beranza moved side to side. Catching a heavy left uppercut to the pit of the stomach, he fired a low hook into Gonzalez’ cup and was warned by the ref. He scored a flurry of blows and Gonzalez landed a pair of heavy left hooks to the jaw at the bell.
Bouncing on his toes and circling in the fifth, Beranza continued expending more energy than Gonzalez. For his efforts, he caught a vicious hook to the ribs. Gonzalez bounced a glancing hook off Beranza’s jaw. A right hook knocked Beranza off balance, but a Beranza straight left smacked loudly to Gonzalez’ head. Firing back, Gonzalez ripped three thudding left hooks to Beranza’s left side at the bell.
In the seventh, the harder punching Gonzalez forced the action with jabs and looping rights and lefts. Beranza ducked, covered, and circled. Gathering himself, he fired bursts of four and five blows, covered and circles out here, and threw single overhand rights or hooks there.
Gonzalez continued stalking in the eighth, catching Beranza with a left to the jaw and—moments later—a straight right to the head. He seemed to be measuring Beranza for the coupe de gras. Digging wicked hooks to the head and side mixed with rights, he battered him about the ring. Beranza slugged his way clear of the ropes. Gonzalez stepped back and jabbed. He landed a very heavy left to the stomach. Fierce blows ensued. Beranza repelled Gonzalez with a pair of rights. Looking infuriated, Gonzalez buried a left to the stomach and drove Beranza back with hurtful body blows. The bell terminated the skirmish in full swing.
Gonzalez began the ninth boxing more. For once, he was bouncing on toes. He caught a wide hook to the side of head. Gonzalez pumped two jabs. They traded inside. A looping right suddenly turned Gonzalez! Gonzalez was warned for alow blow. Beranza bounced a pair of lefts to Gonzalez’ head, the second a hard smacking one at the bell which drew Gonzalez’ nod of respect.
In the furious tenth and final round, Gonzalez retreated on his toes, peppering with jabs as Bernaza pursued. And then, another low left by Gonzalez! Beranaza retaliated with a paif of lefts that knocked Gonzalez back. Gonzalez dug another low blow and got a one point deduction. Moments later, he landed two more low blows which the ref didn’t see. Surging, Gonzalez landed a right uppercut to the head and ripped a left to side. The two traded furiously in close.
Beranza caught a hard left to head and drove Gonzalez back with a right to head. Gonzalez ripped off a left hook, Beranza fired back with three thumping blows to Gonzalez’ head and darted out. Reengaging, he drove Gonzalez back again with a a left-right combination to the head and got caught with a vicious right hook. Beranza jumped back in with looping lefts and rights of his own. Blood streaming from his nose, Gonzalez threw everything into rights and left hooks. Dipping under, Beranza fired back hard. They trade furiously for the remaining 30 seconds of the round. Gonzalez pressed desperately for the knockout, but it didn’t come. In fact, Beranza appeared to edge in a close round.
Judges scored the bout 98-91 twice and 96-93 for Jhonny Gonzalez, which ironically was greeted with loud boos and whistles from the crowd.
To read the rest of the night's results, click on the link below:
http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/news/archives/00003762.htm
To contact the photographer, Thomas Mathis, email him at the following email address:
