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Tonight at 9 pm EST on FOX Sports 1, Premier Boxing Champions is back again with a fight card from California, Pennyslvania, which is a fun thing to say, featuring welterweight Sammy Vasquez Jr in the main event against Mexico's Jose "Piston" Lopez.
Vasquez (19-0, 13 KO) has emerged as one of the more reliably entertaining TV fighters in boxing, a 5'10" southpaw who draws raucous crowds to his fights in Pennsylvania, particularly the Pittsburgh area. He's 2-0 in 2015, with wins over Emmanuel Lartei Lartey and Wale Omotoso.
Lopez (25-3-1, 15 KO) is no pushover, however. The 25-year-old has won eight straight fights after a 2012 loss to Humberto Soto, where Lopez was very competitive. He could be a young fighter starting to come into his own, and this matchup looks pretty interesting on paper.
The co-feature will pit super featherweight prospect Omar Douglas (14-0, 11 KO) against Braulio Santos (12-2, 10 KO) in a 10 round bout. Patrick L. Stumberg will be here with live round by round coverage.
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Sammy Vasquez def. Jose Lopez by TKO at 1:08 of Round Five
Omar Douglas def. Braulio Santos by unanimous decision (96-90, 99-87, 97-89)
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Sammy Vasquez vs. Jose Lopez
Round one: Both men jabbing the body to start. Good exchange in center ring. Hard left to the body by Vasquez. Stiff jab, then a straight left by Vasquez. One minute in. Right hook lands and he pivots away from trouble. Another right hook and body jab. Right hook again, straight left soon after. Lopez jabs the body. Vasquez avoids a rush. One minute to go. Short left hook by Lopez. Vasquez winning the jab battle. Lead left lands. Lopez to the body. Vasquez lands a straight to the body before the bell. Good start from Vasquez, 10-9.
Round two: Vasquez fires a 1-2 to the body. Lopez is attacking but having issues dealing with angles; he eats another pair of counters in the corner. Lopez to the body. Clinch. Left uppercut to the body from Vasquez. One minute in. Lopez's volume isn't getting through. Looping left from Vasquez connects. Right hook, too. Lopez is only attacking in straight lines. Clinch. Counter uppercut fro Vasquez, but Lopez lands a left. They trade heavy leather in the center. One minute to go. Lead left by Vasquez. Lopez looking for the straight right to the body. Nice exchange. Body shots from Lopez, hard left backs him off. Fun fight. 20-18 Vasquez.
Round three: Vasquez using range very well to avoid Lopez's rushes. Right hook as he pivots. Good left cross by Vasquez. Check hook raises a cloud from Lopez, left body shot lands soon after. One minute in. Long left to the body and Lopez slips. Check hook lands after they stand. Good right hook and looping left from Vasquez. Lopez gets him to the corner and lands some power shots before eating a 1-2. Vasquez circles off. One minute to go. Clinch. Vasquez to the body before they separate. Good left as he forces Lopez to pivot. Right hook lands for him. Vasquez digs in a counter uppercut to the body and a stiff jab up top. They trade before the bell. 30-27 Vasquez.
Round four: Lopez continues to plod forward and wing bombs. Vasquez doing a great job of countering and getting just out of range. One minute in. Straight left by Vasquez, then a right hook. Lopez jabs the body. Right hook from Vasquez. Lopez manages to reach him with a straight right and get him to the ropes. Short body shots from Lopez, Vasquez comes back with a trio of heavy lefts. Nice right hook and cuffing left. One minute to go. Another long left and a vicious one to the body. Vasquez teeing off with massive shots. Lopez swinging back, manages to tie up. Another pair of nasty right hooks. Lopez eats a hard straight left and ties up, then takes a right uppercut to the body before the bell. 40-36 Vasquez.
Round five: Straight lefts from Vasquez. Right hook connects. Lopez simply can't handle Vasquez's footwork. More heavy shots by Vasquez. Tremendous combination buffets Lopez and forces him down. Lopez makes it up but looks dispirited. Vasquez celebrates prematurely, then makes up for his mistake by crushing Lopez with punches as soon as they reset, earning the stoppage. Tremendous performance by Vasquez.
Final result: Vasquez def. Lopez by TKO
Milton Santiago vs. Alvaro Ortiz
Round one: Overhand right by Ortiz met by a stiff jab. Santiago to the body. Nice 3-2 off a fake body shot. Double left hook from Santiago. Ortiz lands a wide hook and they clinch. One minute in. clinch. Ortiz's punches are terribly slow and wide. Clinch, Ortiz with a right inside. Good right to the gut by Santiago. Shovel hook lands for him. Ortiz to the body and they jockey inside. One minute to go. Two-piece by Ortiz. Counter combination lands for Santiago. Left uppercut by Santiago, followed by some fancy head movement. Double left hook before the bell. 10-9 Santiago.
Round two: Santiago bounces some hard shots off Ortiz's guard. Hard body shot. Santiago targeting the body as Ortiz wades in. Ortiz to the body, eats a check hook. Two-piece to the gut from Santiago, one minute in. Clinch. Nasty body shot and left cross. Ortiz swings away inside and lands a handful of shots to the body before getting clinched. Clinch, double left hand by Santiago to the body and head. Ortiz lands a nice body shot. Santiago lands to the body in turn and Ortiz continues to find success in close. One minute to go. 1-2-3 by Santiago. Lead left by Ortiz. Ortiz bombs away until the end of the round. 19-19.
Round three: Santiago looking for counters as Ortiz steps in. Good body shots from Santiago. Santiago backs him up and lands a three-piece, Ortiz comes back with an overhand right. Clinch. Santiago to the body. One minute in. Straight right splits Ortiz's guard. Good exchange in the center. Santiago digs a right uppercut to the body. Double left hook. One minute to go. Straight left on the counter. Hard combination lands for him. Clinch. Body shot and overhand right. Yet another hard body shot; this round has been all Santiago. He sneaks an uppercut through the guard and pivots away with a check left hook. 29-28 Santiago.
Round four: Ortiz is still game, but Santiago's circling extremely well and pivoting after landing good shots. Clinch. One minute in. Ortiz digs to the body inside, runs into an uppercut. Uppercut and straight by Santiago. Ortiz tries to open up on the ropes. Uppercut from Santiago, then a 1-2-3. Left uppercut lands for him. 2-3 connects, then a lead hook. One minute in. Ortiz again tries to work on the ropes. Jab lands for Ortiz and he digs in some body shots on the ropes until Santiago circles off. Overhand right lands for Ortiz, straight right lands for Santiago. Santiago fires a combination but eats an overhand right that gets his attention. They trade until the bell. 39-37 Santiago.
Round five: Santiago has crisp punches and movement, but just lacks power. Ortiz landing sporadically to the body, eating many more clean punches from Santiago. Ortiz works at point-blank range. Santiago gets warned for holding his head down. One minute in. Lead right by Ortiz. Nice combination from Santiago. Ortiz pops him with an overhand right after taking some more punches. Santiago sneaks in an uppercut. Clinch. One minute to go. Ortiz whacks away on the ropes. Santiago runs him into a pair of body shots and a left hook. Counter left uppercut. Ortiz again digs to the body. Santiago answers with his own body blows. They swing away until the bell. 49-46 Santiago.
Round six: Same story: Ortiz walks straight in and tries to rip to the body, Santiago runs him into some good-looking combinations, rinse and repeat. No sign of either man breaking down. One minute in. Good right snaps Ortiz's head back. More short body shots by Ortiz. counter uppercut from Santiago, who's finding himself on the ropes a worrying amount. Not worrying against Ortiz, obviously but worrying in the future. Good combination in the corner by the nineteen-year-old. They swing at close range until the bell. 59-55 Santiago.
Final result: Santiago def. Ortiz by unanimous decision (60-54 x3)
Omar Douglas vs. Braulio Santos
Round one: Douglas looking for his left hook early. He triples it up, two low and one high. Another good body shot and that one hurt Santos. The latter ties up and they reset in the center. Stiff jab from Douglas, Santos answers. One minute in. Clinch. Clinch. Douglas looks the stronger of the two and is on the front foot. Santos with a combination to the gut. One minute to go. Douglas backs him to the corner, then lands a nasty jab as Santos is throwing that flattens him. Amazingly, Santos makes it to his feet in time and manages to clinch. Douglas rips him to the body when he tries to tie up again, but Santos survives the round. 10-8 Douglas.
Round two: Simultaneous jab starts the round. Body shot from Douglas after blocking a combination. Santos circling and jabbing, but not doing a good job of keeping distance. More heavy hooks to the body by Douglas. Straight right downstairs, Santos digs to the gut in response. One minute in. Double hook by Douglas. His jab has some serious power. Body shot, Santos knocks his mouthpiece out with an uppercut and lands a left hook. In response, Douglas crushes him with a hook of his own for another hard knockdown. Santos makes it to his feet and they pause to re-insert Douglas's mouthpiece. One minute to go. Body shot and straight right by Douglas, then another body shot. Santos lands a left hook after taking a few more rib roasters. All Douglas, 20-16.
Round three: Counter right lands for Santos. Good exchange in center ring. I am hypnotized by Douglas' hair sock. Body shot, straight right by Douglas. Left hook to the body, then the head. They dig away in the clinch. One minute in. Good double jab from Santos. More clinching. They trade body shots. Nasty hook exchange near the ropes, head and body. One minute to go. Hard lead right by Santos, left hook by Douglas. Stiff jab to the body stuns Santos, and when he ties up, Douglas lands some blatant shots to the back of the head. No penalty and they continue. Douglas walking him down as before and both men land hard in the center. 30-25 Douglas.
Round four: Both land lefts to the body before clinching. Hard left hooks by Santos. Douglas obliges him and they crack each other with big shots for a sec. Clinch. More stiff jabs by Douglas. Santos to the body, then a left uppercut. Overhand right from Santos. One minute in. This is Santos' best round thus far. Douglas to the body, clinch. They trade body shots. 1-1-2 by Douglas. Solid uppercut in the clinch. One minute to go. Douglas walking him down with the jab. Santos swings an overhand right, Douglas responds to the body. 39-35 Douglas.
Round five: Lead right by Douglas. Body shot and a stiff jab. Hook up top. They trade at close range. Douglas backs him to the ropes and they continue engaging at close quarters. The ref takes a point from Douglas for hitting the back of the head, which seems fair. Clinch. Short uppercuts and body shot from Douglas. Left hook by Santos knocks Douglas' hair wrap up and they clinch. Good phone booth slugging. Santos has landed some quality hooks. One minute to go. Lead right and left hook by Douglas, Santos clinches. Lead hook by Santos. Solid jabs by Douglas, clinch. Combination by Douglas before the bell. 48-44 Douglas.
Round six: Santos is circling well considering how many body shots he's taken. Santos ties up and Douglas gets warned for kidney shots. Left hook by Santos. Santos working the body well and clinches. Good left hook by Santos. One minute in. Flurry by Douglas. Douglas to the body. Slip by Santos, who's starting the land with considerably greater volume. Douglas to the body, then a stiff jab. Good trade in the pocket, clinch. One minute to go. Douglas backs him to the corner, lets him out. Uppercut and hook land for Douglas, after which they fire simultaneous hooks. Santos sneaks in another body shot before the bell. 57-54 Douglas.
Round seven: Lead hook from Santos, more borderline back-of-the-head shots by Douglas when he clinches. Body shot from Douglas, Santos responds with a heavy exchange at close range. One minute in. Lead right by Santos. Clinch Clinch. They trade body shots. Overhand right by Santos, then a low blows, which prompts the ref to take a point based on earlier fouls. Clinch. One minute in. Body shot by Douglas. Both land combinations inside. Straight right and left hook land for Douglas. Douglas body shot, clinch. Hard lead hook by Santos, Douglas takes it like a champ. Body shot. Lead right by Douglas, then a combination. 67-62 Douglas.
Round eight: Santos remains clinch-happy. Good hook from him, Douglas responds with a body shot before being clinched. One minute in. Body shot exchange, clinch. Stiff jabs from Douglas inside. Santos lands his lead hook. They clinch, Douglas lands another body shot. Another soon after. Santos clinches, eats more body shots. One minute to go. Double hook as Santos advances, then a 1-1-2. Santos to the body inside. Both touch the body. Hard left hook from Santos, Douglas comes back with a combination. 77-71 Douglas.
Round nine: Santos reaches with a right to the body. Good short punches by Douglas. Santos jabs the body. Lead right by Douglas, Santos clinches. One minute in. 1-1-2 lands for Douglas after some body jabs. Clinch. More good jabs by Douglas. Body shot. One minute to go. Santos with a solid hook inside. Clinch. Santos is dipping so low his head is almost at Douglas' knees. Both men rip to the body in a fun exchange. Uppercuts to the head from both. Douglas with a body shot and short right upper before the bell. 87-80 Douglas.
Round ten: Douglas firing off multiple left hooks in sequence. Santos touches the body. They trade body shots. Good left hook from Santos. Clinch. One minute in. More clinching. Combination by Douglas, then a counter cross. Santos clinches. Douglas lands a right to the body as Santos is coming in. More clinching. One minute to go. Hard combo by Douglas. More body work. Santos takes a combo and comes back with a body shot. Santos ends, fittingly, with a clinch. 97-89 Douglas.
Final result: Douglas def. Santos by unanimous decision