A strange fight from Loma, taking nothing from Lopez but Loma was shot shy for the best part of 6 rounds. Lopez however was focussed, taut, fast, accurate and prevented Loma from his usual movement and destructive body punching.
I had Lopez wining rounds 1-6 and 7 possibly a draw but I swung it for Loma
I gave Loma 8 & 9 after some decent attacks and exchanges, but it was still close
Round 10, a mixed bag but Loma had the better of inside exchanges, he got it from me.
Round 11 was Loma - definitely bringing the heat to Lopez, tho he coped pretty well and pushed back at the close
Round 12 saw both fighters putting in some great work, but the cleaner shots were from Lopez and he had Loma hurt at least twice. A shame he got cut, but it didn't slow him at all - in the final exchanges he was still gunning for Loma.
It was a cagey, technical opening and whilst I expected Loma to start slow, he seemed much less inclined to raise his game until far too late. Lopez had a well defined game plan and prevented Loma from executing his usual strategy, cancelling out his body punching and at times being effective with his own. I have seen very little of Lopez - and that is my loss - he looked every part a champion and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. You have to wonder if Loma's climb through the weights has diminished his effectiveness against a top fighter at lightweight.
Enjoyed the fight.