Wilberth Lopez Upsets Mystified Jose “Gato” Roman in Ontario, CA

ONTARIO, CA — It was the case of the southpaw jinx as Wilberth Lopez mystified Jose “Gato” Roman to win by unanimous decision in a super lightweight clash on Friday.

Mexico’s lefty Lopez (19-8) ventured to the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario and kept the hard-hitting Garden Grove fighter Roman (24-2-1) outside of the firing zone to gain the win. The mostly pro-Roman crowd was stymied.

Lopez used that puzzling left-handed stance to perfection as Roman never could figure out how to attack. Round after round the southpaw kept the Garden Grove fighter just out of reach. And when he entered the firing zone, Lopez caught him with straight lefts and right hooks.

It was a puzzle that was never solved by Roman.

The crowd tried to inspire Roman with shouts of “get inside,” but no one could advise him how to do so. Instead Lopez connected just enough to win each round while Roman allowed the lefty to control the tempo.

After eight rounds all three judges scored in favor of Lopez 79-73, 80-72, 78-74.

It was no mystery to the judges who won the fight.

In the semi-main event Ruben Villa (8-0) again proved that lefties ruled the night with a one-sided win over Ernesto Guerrero (27-21) in a six round super featherweight match. It was one of Villa’s better performances, especially since it was against the Mexican veteran Guerrero. It was never in doubt as all three judges scored it for Villa 60-54.

Other Bouts

Venezuela’s Juan Ruiz (20-0, 12 KOs) handily defeated Mexico’s Erick Martinez (14-9-1), winning a unanimous decision after eight rounds in a super welterweight contest. Ruiz used his height and reach to near perfection against the tough Martinez.

Michael Dutchover (6-0) floored Carlos Flores (4-6-1) in the first round but things got tougher after that. Still, Dutchover maintained his speed and punch advantage in winning by unanimous decision after four rounds in a lightweight fight.

During intermission new WBA super bantamweight world titlist Danny Roman (pictured) was given his belt in front of the crowd. Roman upset Japan’s reigning world champion Shun Kubo by knockout in the ninth round on Sept. 3, in Kyoto, Japan.

“I was pretty excited that I had the chance to fight the champion,” said Roman to the crowd. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

Roman is yet another Thompson Boxing Promotions world champion. It’s becoming a long list.

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