Oliver's plans get KO'd
Lopez springs surprise in 4th
It was supposed to be a tuneup.
Undefeated Mike Oliver was supposed to fight Julio Zarate in an International Boxing Federation junior featherweight title eliminator, but money got in the way. So instead he gave Reynaldo Lopez about a month's notice for a fight last night at the Roxy.
And even though Lopez had 19 knockouts coming into the fight, the event's promoter, Rich Cappiello, said he felt pretty good about the matchup.
Safe to say he lost the feeling around the time Lopez landed a sneaky left hook that made Oliver knockout No. 20.
Cappiello could hardly explain the fourth-round knockout, Oliver's first pro loss.
"I don't think Mike was focused tonight," Cappiello said. "He wasn't himself tonight."
Oliver (21-1) was stomach down in the neutral corner as referee Dick Flaherty almost counted to eight before deciding that the scheduled 10-rounder had gone far enough.
Oliver finally got up with his stainless record blemished and title hopes in limbo, which was a surprise to everybody in the building - except Lopez, who said God told him he'd win in the fourth.
"When I threw that punch I knew it was going to take him because it was obvious," said Lopez (28-6-2) through a translator. "I hit him a couple times with it."
The fourth round bordered on chaos, with Lopez complaining to Flaherty about rabbit punches, then seconds later tossing a charging Oliver to the mat.
"When he tried to hit me with the rabbit punch the referee didn't see it," said Lopez. "I tried to tell the ref what he was doing. When I hit him with the first shot he tried to hold me, so I twisted around and I threw him."
Oliver didn't talk after the fight, but Cappiello was stunned enough for the both of them.
"I'm blown away," he said. "I still don't believe it happened."
Instead of sitting on an unbeaten record and a No. 2 ranking, Oliver has to go back through the ranks.
It was one of a couple of surprises on the night.
The day before, Aaron Torres of "The Contender" fame said he would knock out Antoine Smith.
But in the second round of their 147-pound bout, Smith smacked Torres with a left that dropped him to the mat not too far from his corner.
The best advice Torres's cut man could yell was, "Put your gloves up," but his shout was about one punch too late.
Torres was bleeding from the nose, and running from Smith's left hand. A round later, Smith slipped a jab and unleashed a left uppercut that left Torres jelly-legged in the middle of the ring and made the TV star the Florida fighter's 10th victim in 12 fights.
"He hit me with a good punch, and I never really recovered from that," said Torres (16-7).
"He rung my bell. These things happen in boxing."
Lowell junior welterweight Sean Eklund had the building behind him - plus Micky Ward in his corner - in a fight against winless Jose Velazquez. After spending the early rounds bear-hugging, Eklund used the close quarters to his advantage in the fourth, sneaking in uppercuts that were as flashy as they were jarring, which helped him win a unanimous decision and improve to 6-2.
"I don't know what it is," he said. "I always start slow."
The solution from Ward was pretty simple: "He's got to start off the fight like he did the fourth round."
Also on the undercard, Frankie Trader won his pro debut by taking a unanimous decision in a four-round junior lightweight bout against Luis Rosario, and middleweight Eric Caminero of Lawrence dropped Ardrick Butler in three rounds to pick up his fourth win (all knockouts).
