Andres Gutierrez clearly didn’t read our article “Thanksgiving Dishes That Won’t Make You Miss Your Weigh-In.” The Mexican veteran apparently went back for seconds and thirds on turkey day showing up an astounding 11 pounds over the 130-pound weight limit. Top Rank’s Bob Arum was livid, pulling him from the main event where he was scheduled to fight former WBO featherweight champ Oscar Valdez (27-0).
Second-generation boxer Adam Lopez (13-1) had his number called as Guiterrez’s replacement. The son of the late Olympic silver medalist Hector Lopez, the 23-year-old made quite an impression, knocking down the undefeated world champion in the second.
Lopez looked like he was going to pull off a storybook upset (he was winning on one of the judges cards) but got caught in the seventh as Valdez finally connected with his power shots, earning a controversial TKO. Referee Russell Mora, best known for ruling a blatant low blow by Abner Mares as a knockdown, stopped the fight a bit too early.
Valdez moves onto bigger things, possibly with Miguel Berchelt (who was ringside) in his crosshairs. The two are set to collide in an old school Mexican slugfest. The 28-year-old Mexican star redshirted most of 2018 with an injury and has positioned himself as first in line for Berchelt’s WBC title.
Ironically, more fans were talking about the loser. Lopez has boxing fans buzzing thanks to his gutsy performance despite only receiving less than a day’s notice.
Frampton schools McCreary
Also on the impressive Top Rank card was Carl Frampton (27-2), another popular former world champion coming off of a long layoff. Unlike his Mexican counterpart, however, the MBE-holding featherweight cruised to a routine victory against American Tyler McCreary (16-1-1). The Northern Irishman pitched a ten-round shutout on the judge’s cards, sprinkling in two knockdowns for a unanimous 100-88 decision. WBO champ Jamel Herring was in the building and teased a future title bout with Frampton.
Teixeira upsets Adames
Brazillian Patrick Teixeira (31-1) channeled his warrior spirit to hand Dominican blue-chipper Carlos Adames (18-1) his first L. Finishing the fight with a crimson mask of his own blood, Teixeria snagged the interim WBO junior middleweight title with a narrow unanimous decision win. Teixeira pulled off the big upset with a gutsy and gritty performance that no one saw coming and will be getting the actual belt soon.
The current champ Jaime Munguia is moving up to middleweight, so expect Teixeria to be announced as the new full-time WBO titleholder at next week’s World Boxing Organization’s convention.
