OPENING SHOT ALIVE AT 175: In a brutal clash of light heavyweight fringe contenders, Najee Lopez recovered from a knockdown to take out Mexico’s Manuel Gallegos in Kissimmee, Florida, on March 13. While unloading a combination in the seventh, Lopez was suddenly dropped by a right hand in a bout that had already featured eye-popping ebb and flow. Bloodied and bruised around the right eye, the unbeaten Lopez recovered enough to unleash hell in a wild eighth. With less than a minute remaining in the session, a sharp right hand hurt Gallegos before a sustained two-fisted follow-up forced the referee’s intervention just as the stricken fighter slumped to the canvas. Some are calling it an early contender for Fight of the Year.
Damon Gonzalez
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