David Lopez, Junior Welterweight gave a speech Friday on OTX 11 at Corey Studios in Atlanta, stopping Marlin Sims in the first round under unusual circumstances.
Lopez, 20, from Oakland, California, dropped Sims, 32, from Tampa, Florida, with a right hook in the final 30 seconds of the round. As López pressed to stop the bout, referee Malik Waleed appeared to intervene. But the bell rang to end the round. (Although there was some confusion about what was happening at the time.) Sims Corner informed the referee between rounds that their fighter could not continue. As a result, the first round TKO was officially recorded in the 3rd minute.
“I want to be the explosive fighter that fans have been waiting for,” López said after the fight.
His father and trainer, Chris López, said their goal is to fight 4-6 times in 2025, positioning López for the Prospect of the Year award.
Lopez improved to 7-0 (5 KOs) while Sims dropped to 8-4 (4 KOs) with his fourth straight loss.
Local favorite super middleweight Nathan Lugo from Marietta, Ga., increased his knockout streak to three to begin his career with a 2nd round technical knockout. 4 over Mardoche Ilunga from Irving, Texas in the 44th minute of the round.
Lugo, 24, dominated the first two rounds with fierce pressure. And almost scored a knockdown in the third round. When he caught Ilunga with a left hook as he backed up, in the corner, Lugo’s father and trainer, Mike Lugo. Encourage him to complete the task by saying, “I’m afraid the money won’t make me.”
Referee Thomas Taylor stopped the match after Lugo threw a flurry of punches. with Ilunga not responding. (Even though he wasn’t injured) causing him to have to punch in the four rounds.
Lugo improved to 3-0 (3 KOs), while 24-year-old Ilunga dropped to 1-1-1 (1 KO).
Lightweight Maliek Montgomery from Macon, Georgia, missed weight and had a size advantage but still stopped Namibia’s Sakaria Lukas in the fourth round by 1 minute 40 seconds.
Montgomery, 29, used his power to push Lucas, 40, back in the first round. And his relentless punches continued into the second round. The two fighters rushed forward. With Lucas stumbling from a flurry of punches before falling in the second round, it might be called a slip. But Lucas didn’t protest.
Montgomery’s high-volume strikes put Lucas down again in the third. A brutal left hook to the body from Montgomery ended the 4th round, giving Lucas no chance to recover.
Montgomery improved to 20-0 (18 KO), while Lukas dropped to 26-3-1 (18 KO).
In the first fight, lightweight Jonathan Mansour, 24, from La Mesa, California, won a four-round unanimous decision over Luciano Ramos, 29, who is training out of the Nick Di Academy. The fight lacked significant action as Mansour tactically controlled the bout. All three judges scored it 40-36.
Mansour improved to 3-0 (1 KO) while at Stockton. Ramos from California, who had lost more than 3 pounds, dropped to 2-8. Ramos bravely stepped in. By walking out to listen to the song “My Way” by Limp Bizkit.
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.
