Juan Manuel "JuanMa" Lopez TKO Gerry "Fearless" Penalosa in round 9.The only thing more amazing than ‘Fearless’ Gerry Penalosa’s ability to take a punch was rising star Juan Manuel Lopez’s ability to dish them out. In a sensational display of fortitude and punishment, Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez retained his WBO super bantamweight title with a ninth round stoppage over Filipino veteran Gerry Penalosa earlier this evening in Bayamon.
While “Fearless” (now 54-6-2) landed some solid counters and engaged in just enough fierce exchanges to stay in the fight, he was given the worst beat down of his long career. Finally, trainer Freddie Roach had no alternative but to stop the fight between the ninth and tenth stanzas. Indeed, it was painful to watch the old warrior sustain so many blows both to the body and head, but by the same token, he was in against a shooting star of the sport—and only shooting stars land 80 power punches in one round, particularly on a pro like Penalosa.
