Juan Manuel Lopez Decisions Rogers Mtagwa, Retains WBO Crown

Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez retained his WBO super featherweight crown with a unanimous decision over Tanzanian native Rogers Mtagwa of Philadelphia in his fifth defense before a packed house at the WaMu Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

The 26-year-old southpaw rose to 27-0 with 24 knockouts, but failed to earn his 15th straight KO against the hard-punching Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs).

Lopez, who was in his first fight as the main event, was nearly out on his feet from the start of the 12th until the end, but managed to hold on for a victory, 114-113 on Kevin Morgan's card, 115-111 on that of Steve Weisfeld, 116-111 on that of Carlos Ortiz.

FanHouse scored it a draw, 114-114.

Originally, announcer Michael Buffer read one of the cards to be 116-116, but that was later corrected.

"The guy was very strong. I was right out there hitting him, but he was a very strong guy. Sometimes, it's very difficult to fight guys like this because they have nothing to lose," said Lopez, who dropped Mtagwa in the fifth round, out-landed him 327 to 216 overall, and 297 to 197 in power punches.

"They come in with everything, and I have a lot to lose. In the last round, he was coming right after me. I was a little tired. But I knew what was going on at all times," said Lopez. "The first half of the fight, even more than that, I had it under control. I was doing what I wanted to do. But it got tough at the end."

Mtagwa thought that he won the fight, and wanted a rematch.

"Definitely if I get a rematch, I don't think that he wins the fight. I thought I won the fight. The last round he was really tired. I tried for the knockout," said Mtagwa. "It was a very close fight. He's a good fighter. I don't believe that he won the fight. I hit as hard as he does."

In victory, Lopez followed a win by potential rival and former Olympic gold medalist, Yuriorkis Gamboa , a Cuban-born fighter who successfully defended his WBA featherweight (126) championship with a fourth-round knockout of Whyber Garcia (22-7, 15 KOs) of Panama City, Panama.

Gamboa, 27, scored his 16th victory without a loss, his sixth consecutive knockout and his 14th in the past 15 fights.

"I'd like to fight the top guys at 126. I could fight anybody," said Lopez. "Sometimes it's harder to fight these guys who have nothing to lose. Guys like this."

Promoter Bob Arum felt that Lopez won fair and square and indicated that his fighter was ready to move on to bigger and better things -- as early as Jan. 23 on HBO.

"He won the fight clear and the referee missed three knockdowns. They were legitimate knockdowns. I could see him missing them once, but not three times," said Arum. "The two guys we're looking at are (Steven) Luevano and (Elio) Rojas, the WBC 126-pound champion and the WBO 126-pound champion in Puerto Rico on HBO."



Check out a round-by-round blog of the fight below.

Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Rogers Mtagwa

Round 1: The awkward Mtagwa's forward-moving, wide-open style was beneficial to Lopez. Mtagwa came forward, but was caught with a looping right that made his right hand touch the canvas. It was ruled a slip. A similar right hook, followed by a left moved Mtagwa, yet again. A big left landed by Lopez, who backed away and continued to box and move. Another three-punch combination split the guard of Mtagwa. A left hook knocked Mtagwa off balance. Near the bell, Mtagwa was knocked off balance again by a punch, but the referee ruled it a slip again. Lopez's round, 10-9.

Round 2: Lopez continued to circle and box in an effort to allow Mtagwa to walk into his blows. An overhand left lands for Lopez, who later gets the better of two separate exchanges. A left is drilled home by Lopez. It's becoming target practice for the champion, who lands two right hands and a left. Another left knocks Mtagwa off balance again, as Lopez continues to beat his man to the punch. Mtagwa lands a right. Two straight lefts land to Mtagwa's body. Mtagwa lands two left hooks prior to the bell. Mtagwa closed the gap, but Lopez takes the round. Lopez's round, 10-9.

Round 3: Lopez leads with two big lefts and a right, but Mtagwa lands a potent right. A clubbing right by Lopez is countered by one by Mtagwa. Lopez abandons his boxing and brawls. A hard right lands to Lopez's jaw. Lopez backs up his rival with several punches, but Mtagwa counters with a big right. Lopez is bleeding over his right eye. Mtagwa's head-butting has become a factor. Mtagwa's round, 10-9.

Round 4: Lopez's cut is ruled to have resulted from a clash of heads. Lopez lands a left, but Mtagwa lands a left of his own. A hard overhand right catches Mtagwa behind the head. Two hard rights land for Lopez, but he takes a left to the head and another to the body and retreats. Mtagwa's pressure appears to be bothering Lopez, who takes two more straight rights from Mtagwa. Mtagwa's round, 10-9.

Round 5: Mtagwa's corner tells him Lopez is fading. Lopez is averaging only eight jabs per round. A right hand lands for Lopez, followed by a straight left. A right hook lands from Lopez, who then drops Mtagwa with a clubbing right behind the neck. Mtagwa is unhurt and rises and lands a left hook. Mtagwa was down for only the third time in his career. A left-right does little to discourage Mtagwa. Lopez takes three right hands and a left hook. Lopez fires a lead right but the challenger is undeterred. A hard right hook stuns Mtagwa. Lopez's round, 10-8.

Round 6: Lopez begins the round by jabbing and dancing away. Lopez continues to box from a distance. Two right uppercuts land for Lopez. Two nice jabs from Mtagwa draw a smile from Lopez, who goes back on his toes. Lopez pot-shots and dances away, spinning off of his shots. Lopez fires a six-punch combination. Mtagwa lands a right just prior to the bell. Lopez's round, 10-9.

Round 7: Mtagwa's trainer, Bobby "Boogaloo" Watts tells him between rounds to close the gap, pressure and stay on top of Lopez, who is back to boxing. Lopez moves in behind a series of about six, unanswered shots and then backs off. Mtagwa follows, but then catches Lopez with his hands low with two hard rights. Mtagwa lands three more hard right hands, one of which hurts Lopez. Lopez appears to be losing steam. Lopez lands a short right hand. Another hard right by Mtagwa lands, as does another, winging right hand at the bell. Mtagwa's round, 10-9.

Round 8: Lopez moves forward and lands a big right hook that backs up Mtagwa. Lopez continues to stand in front of Mtagwa and backs him up. A right hook by Lopez is effective, as is a straight left hand. Lopez continues moving forward, with a double right hook. Lopez lands a left-right and chases Mtagwa to the ropes, but takes a big right. Lopez wins the exchanges, but at the bell, is shaken by a hard right hand. Lopez's round, 10-9.

Round 9: Lopez clinches to start the round. Both men appear winded. Lopez digs to the body and pushes Mtagwa backward. Lopez is stunned by a big right that swivels his head. Lopez clinches and looks shaky. Lopez is warned for hitting below the belt by referee Eddie Cotton. Lopez digs a right uppercut to Mtagwa's jaw. A left-right combination backs up Mtagwa, who fires yet another punch after the bell that appears to stagger Lopez. Lopez's round, 10-9.

Round 10: Lopez takes a hard right and then a left. Lopez tries to move, but then clinches. Lopez lands two hard rights and a left to the body followed by one to Mtagwa's head. Lopez clinches. Lopez takes a hook and a right hand and gets stuck in the ropes. Both fighters are swinging wildly, which is Mtagwa's game. A right by Mtagwa is answered with two right hands by Lopez. Lopez is hurt by a wild punch, but the wild-swinging Mtagwa can't follow up because his momentum from a missed punch causes him to fall down. Mtagwa's round, 10-9.

Round 11: Lopez enters the 10th round for the first time in his career. Lopez tries to return to jabbing but is staggered by a left hook and a right and looks ready to go down. Lopez stands up against a right, but he's wobbly. Lopez lands a left and clinches. Mtagwa lands three right uppercuts while holding Lopez's head down. Lopez hurts Mtagwa with a left and then a right. Mtagwa holds on with about a minute left. Lopez digs to the body, then goes back to moving a bit. But Lopez staggers to his corner after taking three, hard right hands, and appears to have been saved by the bell. Mtagwa's round, 10-9.

Round 12: Lopez is on his toes, but takes a hard right and is hurt. Lopez is drilled by two more right hands and is staggering around the ring. Lopez falls but it's ruled a slip. Lopez is being drilled by right hands but amazingly stands and holds on. There is 1:50 left in the round, but Lopez still is running into punches, unable to hold. A clinch is broken by referee Eddie Cotton, as Mtagwa continues to land against Lopez. Lopez's hands are down, but he manages to hold, yet again. A left hook nearly drops Lopez, but he remains standing. Amazingly, Lopez took 35 power shots in the round and remained on his feet. Mtagwa's round,10-8.

FanHouse has scored the fight a draw, 114-114.