Undefeated welterweight Sammy Vasquez put on a show in his home state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening.
As part of Premier Boxing Champions Toe-to-Toe Tuesdays series on Fox Sports 1, Vasquez (20-0, 14 KO’s) stopped Jose Lopez inside the fifth round at the California University of Pennsylvania Convocation Center located on the university campus.
It was domination from start-to-finish for the ex-veteran.
Vasquez honorably served in the U.S. Army National Guard for eight years and notably served two tours in Iraq.
Vasquez knows the importance of survival, and he showed that from the opening bell, nailing Lopez with a three-punch combination.
Lopez was hesitant throughout the fight, looking to counter with the big shot, but was never able to cut off the ring effectively, nor figure out his opponent’s movement.
Dancing circles around the ring as if he were emulating a young Floyd Mayweather Jr., Vasquez hit Lopez continuously with his left while Lopez was unable to muster anything offensively.
When Lopez mounted a small bit of momentum as he did in the second connecting on a short right hand, it didn’t end up counting for much, as he was not fast enough to avoid the sharp counters.
Lopez managed to get Vasquez on the ropes in the third and landed with some lefts to the body, but Vasquez managed to get Lopez off of him again with sharp jabs and counters that snapped his head back.
Vasquez teed off on Lopez in the fifth round with a series of lefts and rights sending Lopez to the floor.
On wobbly legs, Vasquez landed with another crisp combination that floored Lopez again, which left referee Gary Rosato no choice but to stop the fight 1:08 into the fifth round.
Expect Vasquez to be in line for some big fights in the near future and given his solid defense, he’s going to be a threat for the top welterweight contenders as well.
