Ruben Villa vs Maickol Lopez Villagrana (13-05-2023) Full Fight
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Transcript
00:00 We went over the rooms in the dressing room.
00:02 You know what I expect out of you.
00:03 The trunks are good here.
00:04 The trunks are good here.
00:06 Let's go to work, guys.
00:07 - Gerard White, the third man in the ring tonight.
00:12 Christina Poncha here with you ringside,
00:14 joined once again this time with Andre Ward.
00:17 Andre, you heard that loud ovation,
00:19 the loudest of the night so far for Ruben Villa,
00:21 not only making his top-ranked debut,
00:23 but fighting not too far from Salinas, California,
00:25 here in Stockton.
00:25 - Yeah, he's a California kid.
00:27 He's got a big, big following from those in Salinas
00:30 and the surrounding area, and rightfully so,
00:33 because Ruben Villa is a really good fighter
00:36 who's still on the rise.
00:37 He's only got one blemish on his record
00:38 against another really, really strong champion
00:41 in Emmanuel Navarrete, so everybody's excited
00:43 about his return here tonight.
00:46 - Ruben Villa, Southpaw, you see him with that left hand
00:49 in the rear position.
00:51 His opponent, Michael Lopez Villagrana,
00:53 is listed as a Southpaw as well,
00:55 but coming out in the orthodox stance,
00:56 and we know from watching tape,
00:57 he'll switch back and forth,
00:58 so don't be surprised if you see him
01:01 switch Southpaw as well.
01:02 Villa, in watching tape, ready for that, prepared for that.
01:07 Actually said they had a fantastic training camp
01:09 for this one, and got a win under his belt after that.
01:12 Emmanuel Navarrete lost back in October of 2020,
01:15 but didn't fight again, and that win didn't come again
01:17 until April of 2022.
01:20 Promotional issues, et cetera,
01:21 but now feels like he's in a really great spot.
01:24 - Gym rat, right?
01:26 Dre always stays in the gym.
01:27 Even though he's only had one fight the last two years,
01:29 he stays working.
01:30 - That's a beautiful thing, especially with layoffs.
01:32 He's either in the gym training himself,
01:34 or training his young fighters that he has coming up,
01:36 and you can tell, even though he's only had one fight
01:40 since the Emmanuel Navarrete fight, he seems smooth.
01:43 He doesn't seem like he's overthinking, he's just reacting,
01:46 and that's a byproduct of staying in that gym.
01:49 - Come on, V.A., let's go!
01:51 - And that's what I love about Ruben Villa,
01:56 is just the subtle movements.
01:57 It's easy to not appreciate a guy like this,
02:00 because he's not a one-punch knockout guy,
02:02 but he's doing a lot of crafty things,
02:04 a lot of skillful things in there
02:05 that you want to look for, like footwork, counters,
02:09 making guys miss and making them pay,
02:11 and he has good offense as well.
02:13 - Come on, come on!
02:15 - V.A. telling us in the fighter meetings, Dre,
02:25 that he wants to improve his footwork, work on angles,
02:29 but also establish his power shots.
02:31 Feels like he's the stronger fighter in there of the two,
02:34 despite only six knockouts in his 19 fights.
02:37 - You should always be reaching for more,
02:38 and I love to hear fighters talk about
02:41 what they're working on.
02:42 You gotta find things to work on
02:45 to stay motivated and stay engaged, because it's easy.
02:48 We've been doing this for a long time.
02:49 You can go to the gym and go through the motions,
02:51 but when you give yourself a goal to say,
02:53 I want to work on footwork or power like V.A.,
02:55 that gives you something to reach for.
02:57 - Good counter shot with the left hand there from V.A.
03:06 (crowd cheering)
03:08 He's got Villagrana backed up there,
03:19 the nice little tricky up cut shot there with the left hand.
03:23 I like that shot.
03:25 (bell rings)
03:33 - And there is the challenger tonight in our main event,
03:36 Steven Butler, ranked number six by the WBO.
03:38 You go down the list, not a lot of the guys
03:39 wanted to answer the call to face Jannebeck Alinkanela,
03:42 but the Canadian did.
03:45 32, three, and one.
03:47 And many consider Jannebeck to be the boogeyman
03:50 in the division, but Butler, as I mentioned,
03:53 not afraid of anybody, and more motivated than ever
03:56 to win his first world title.
03:57 - I have a life to prepare for this fight,
04:01 for this opportunity to become a world champion,
04:04 and I'm hungry.
04:06 I fight for my family.
04:07 I lost my brother three months ago.
04:09 He get shot, we never know when God gonna take you.
04:13 We have a lot of motivation behind this fight tonight.
04:16 I just want to be successful for my family.
04:20 - Jannebeck's a real dude.
04:21 - He's a real dude.
04:21 - He's a very good boxer.
04:23 I got nothing bad to say about Jannebeck,
04:26 but everybody don't want to fight him,
04:28 and me, I'm just waiting for the opportunity
04:32 to fight for world title.
04:34 I afraid of nobody.
04:35 It's gonna be a explosive fight.
04:38 We have two hungry fighter, one to prove himself,
04:42 and you got me, the underdog.
04:45 You're gonna never see in your life a guy like me.
04:47 - All credit to Butler for taking the opportunity,
04:52 but it's been 13 up, 13 down,
04:54 who have stood across the ring from Jannebeck.
04:56 Tim believes, he said it earlier on the broadcast,
04:58 he'll be number 14.
04:59 Your thoughts quickly on the main event
05:00 and Butler stepping up to the task.
05:02 - It's a huge step up for Butler.
05:03 He's been around for a long time,
05:04 but I've never come close to facing the power
05:08 and the skill and the ability
05:09 that he's gonna see tonight in Jannebeck.
05:12 But he's got the opportunity,
05:13 and that's all he can ask for.
05:14 - That coming up later in our main event,
05:17 Komane Maloney versus Astro Labio,
05:19 getting started at 7 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN.
05:22 - Ruben Villa already reddening around the eyes,
05:26 and I'm not quite sure why or from what punch,
05:30 because Villagrana didn't land much in that first round.
05:34 - Yeah, I almost think it was by a headbutt,
05:36 and I'll try to get some clarity on that,
05:37 but the referee did go over to the commission judges
05:39 saying, you know, but no one's cut, nothing happened.
05:41 So usually when you hear some clarity like that,
05:42 perhaps it was from a headbutt.
05:44 - Flash of heads. - Yep.
05:46 And when you have orthodox in Southpaw,
05:48 we see that happen all the time.
05:50 In our last fight, open to cut,
05:52 and here, excuse me, the fight before.
05:55 (crowd chanting)
05:58 - See, Villa, this is his way.
06:02 He's not gonna always wow you with one or two punches.
06:04 He's steady, he's consistent, he's very skillful,
06:08 and he just slowly starts to break his opponents down,
06:10 and he discourages his opponents
06:12 by causing them to miss and countering them.
06:16 That's Villa when he's at his best.
06:18 - Work out of that.
06:20 - And at his best is what he wants to show his promoter,
06:25 that he can be with the opportunity given
06:27 in his top ring debut to fight here,
06:29 close to his backyard, and he's starting off very sharp.
06:32 Nice combination, crisp punching,
06:34 down to the body with that lead hand.
06:37 And Villagrana coming off back-to-back losses,
06:46 feels he has a lot to prove in this fight.
06:48 That loss to Mark Castro that went the distance
06:51 was by unanimous decision in which Castro won
06:54 each and every round, and Villagrana feels like
06:57 he's gotta get back in the win column
07:00 where he's not gonna get big name opportunities anymore.
07:02 - Absolutely, you don't know when you're gonna get
07:03 these opportunities, how often or how frequent,
07:05 so when you get them on this kind of stage,
07:08 you gotta try to take advantage,
07:09 and I think if he's gonna do that, Villagrana,
07:11 he's gotta step up the pace.
07:13 Right now, Villa's got him enamored
07:15 with the footwork and the angles,
07:16 and he's thinking more than he's punching.
07:18 (claps)
07:24 - Clean, crisp shots for Villa.
07:27 Seems to be the name of the game.
07:31 He's connected a lot of 'em like he did right there
07:34 in that flurry to end the round.
07:36 - All right, round three, okay, let's pick up the pace.
07:44 Okay? - How do you feel?
07:45 Good? - You feel strong?
07:46 - Yeah. - Nothing, right?
07:48 - Nothing. - All right.
07:49 Put the pressure on behind the jab.
07:51 He's gonna stay right-handed.
07:52 We're gonna keep your front foot on the outside
07:54 and just keep pounding that jab.
07:56 When you see the left hand open, go, okay?
07:59 Make him touch the rope.
08:00 Make his back touch the rope.
08:02 Okay, put him in those spots, okay?
08:04 And you gotta follow up with the right hook,
08:06 either to the body or to the head, okay?
08:09 I think we can land the body shot.
08:12 I think we can land the right hook to the body.
08:14 Everything is set up right now, okay?
08:17 We gotta start now, though, okay?
08:19 Not 10 rounds.
08:20 (indistinct chatter)
08:23 - Some solid instruction there in the corner for Villa.
08:31 Wants his fighter to continue to maintain
08:37 that outside foot position
08:38 and maybe turn it up a notch here in round three.
08:41 - Yeah, he can.
08:42 When you start to land clean shots,
08:43 twos and threes against an opponent,
08:45 even if it's early like it is in this fight,
08:49 the next thing to do is to step it up
08:51 and start to put more hands on your opponent.
08:53 Why wait?
08:54 And I like how Villa started
08:56 because this is only an eight-round fight,
08:58 and he knew he needed to start fast,
09:00 but he's doing it within himself.
09:02 He's not getting out of who he is.
09:04 - And that's an excellent point to bring up, Dre.
09:05 And being that he's an eight-rounder,
09:06 I mean, he's fought in a world title fight,
09:08 Navarrete, 12-rounder.
09:09 He's fought four 10-rounders in his career,
09:12 but coming back into this fight after a year off
09:14 in the first fight in the last two years,
09:16 he was completely fine with stepping back down
09:18 to an eight-rounder and getting back to work.
09:21 And back to work he did.
09:22 I mean, he's looked pretty good here since the opening bell.
09:24 - I think he's just taking a few steps backwards
09:26 to get a running start.
09:27 And if he does his thing tonight, shines,
09:30 he's gonna have all the rounds that he wants
09:32 in the near future.
09:33 - Some feints there with that lead foot.
09:43 Lateral movement, side to side with his body,
09:44 popping out that right-hand jab
09:46 from that southpaw position.
09:48 Just misses with that uppercut.
09:49 - That's the shot that Villagrana's been wanting
09:51 the whole night is that right uppercut.
09:52 It's a natural shot for him.
09:54 He's typically leaning to that right side
09:56 and giving the whole southpaw right-handed difference.
09:59 That's a clean shot that Villa sees,
10:02 though he hasn't been able to land it just yet.
10:06 At least not like he's wanted to.
10:07 But Villa's not giving Villagrana time to think.
10:13 He's not allowing Villagrana an opportunity to set him up
10:16 because he's either pressuring him with his body,
10:19 his presence, or the punches like you see right here.
10:22 - Oh, snapping the head back up, Villagrana now,
10:24 as he has him up against the ropes,
10:25 just as his corner asked.
10:27 Start to push him back, make him touch the ropes.
10:30 Villagrana, though, marches forward.
10:35 Nice combination there, the hand speed on display for Villa.
10:39 - Great accuracy from Villa.
10:40 Four-punch combination that at each one landed.
10:45 Not wasting any energy, any movements whatsoever.
10:48 - Really nice footwork there
10:54 as he slides to the right-hand side,
10:56 and he's got Villagrana in some trouble here.
10:58 Villagrana holds.
11:02 - As he should, 'cause he's got no answers right now.
11:06 His back is against the ropes,
11:08 and he's just being overwhelmed, out-skilled, overpowered.
11:11 Villa's doing whatever he wants to do right now.
11:14 - And his corner asked him, Dre, to step it up
11:16 in this round, and that's exactly what he's done.
11:18 - Love to see a fighter respond
11:20 and execute the instructions in the corner.
11:22 - Villagrana answering back a little bit,
11:31 but Villa has a little something right back for him.
11:34 Oh, beautiful shot to end what was the best round
11:40 of the fight for Ruben "Draft" Villa.
11:42 [cheers and applause]
11:45 - Tim back here getting excited like he trained him, right?
11:52 - Yeah, I'm trying to figure out if he did,
11:53 'cause he's yelling instructions, he high-fiving me.
11:56 - He knew he wasn't calling this fight,
11:59 but I think he respects the skills
12:00 that have been on display tonight
12:03 from the 26-year-old fighter from Salinas, California.
12:06 Let's listen in.
12:07 - All right, let's see it.
12:10 Let's see it, okay?
12:11 - I can't tell you.
12:12 - Don't get nervous, okay?
12:14 - You're good.
12:15 - Beautiful work from Ruben Villa.
12:17 He did so much in that last round,
12:19 but it all started with the angles and the footwork.
12:21 He would get himself in position,
12:23 creep in, bam, there you see a right uppercut right there.
12:25 Didn't seem like much, but it hurt.
12:27 Followed by a straight left hand and a right hook,
12:29 and then he moved in at the perfect distance
12:31 and the perfect range.
12:32 Same combo, but a different angle here.
12:36 He's close enough to punch, but far enough away
12:38 from his opponent, Villagrana,
12:40 can't get any get back and counter.
12:43 - Fantastic round three.
12:47 Let's see if he can continue that momentum here
12:50 into round four.
12:52 This one's scheduled for eight.
12:54 As we mentioned, Christina Poncho,
12:55 Andre Ward here with you.
12:57 Good rhythm, good body movement here for Villa.
13:00 - It's tough facing a fighter like Villa
13:04 because he's right in your face, but yet he's really not.
13:08 He knows exactly what he wants to do
13:09 and he's timing your movement just like you see right there.
13:11 Villagrana threw a punch, Villa countered it
13:14 with a right hook, and it discourages the fighter,
13:17 the opponent, because they don't want to throw.
13:19 But yet, your presence is right in front of him.
13:21 Good body shot from Villa.
13:23 He's one of the most difficult styles to fight.
13:26 You see a little Lomachenko in Villa right here
13:29 where he's here, then he's to the side of you,
13:31 then he's hitting you with a shot
13:32 that you don't know how he landed it.
13:33 Very, very difficult style to be masked up against.
13:37 - He's so economical with his punches,
13:39 but yet he's making you think all the time
13:41 because he's jabbing, he's moving, he's sliding around.
13:44 And then when he does shoot, he lands, he scores.
13:47 - That's the problem.
13:48 You're getting punished physically,
13:50 but then your brain, your mind is having to work overtime
13:53 and you're getting drained there as well.
13:55 - Brief clinch and then a one-two from Villa.
14:07 He's going to the jab, straight left hand.
14:09 - Villagrana's not discouraged,
14:11 even though he's being outmatched right now.
14:14 - Nice shot to the body with the lead right hand.
14:16 - He's still trying to land that uppercut.
14:17 His eyes are wide on the inside.
14:19 Still trying to counter, like you saw right there.
14:21 So he's still dangerous.
14:22 - How about that move, step around to the right,
14:26 but throw the left hand.
14:27 - I like it.
14:27 - Oh, beautiful left hand puts down Villagrana.
14:33 - Five, four, five, six, seven.
14:36 You okay?
14:40 You want to continue?
14:42 You keep going to short knees.
14:46 - One minute to go.
14:48 The crowd on their feet.
14:49 Again with the left hand connecting with Villa.
14:53 Oh, again, beautiful shot.
15:01 (crowd cheering)
15:03 Third left hand landed.
15:05 - Villagrana's ready to go,
15:10 if Villa can land the right shot.
15:11 It might be a body shot.
15:15 - He's working up top,
15:19 trying to get those hands to come down a bit, Dre.
15:21 Nice uppercut.
15:24 - It's the perfect time for Villa to go downstairs
15:25 because Villagrana's taking the head shot.
15:27 - Oh, there it is, one more time.
15:30 (crowd cheering)
15:31 - Villagrana doing just enough at this moment
15:33 to keep himself in the fight.
15:35 There was the clap.
15:36 Another fantastic round for Ruben Villa,
15:45 putting down Villagrana for the first time in the fight.
15:48 (upbeat music)
15:53 (crowd cheering)
15:56 - Beautiful round from Ruben Villa,
16:03 an accumulation of skill, power, accuracy on display.
16:07 Step around, you can't land clean shots
16:09 and expect them not to have an effect.
16:12 You see that effect right there,
16:13 but that was all set up from angles
16:15 and clean shots landing like that.
16:17 And then all of a sudden,
16:19 boom, the right shot lands in the right spot.
16:23 Down goes Villagrana,
16:25 but that was all set up by skill, feet, angles,
16:30 and hitting his opponent with shots that he couldn't see.
16:33 Beautiful sequence from Ruben Villa.
16:37 - And exactly executing what his game plan was.
16:40 The three bullet points I had was angles,
16:43 power shots, and patience.
16:44 - Check, check, check.
16:46 - Doesn't get any better than that.
16:48 He took his time, he used the angles,
16:50 and he landed it with power.
16:52 - Sox gonna get a look now at Villagrana.
16:54 - Time in!
17:03 - We're gonna start round five.
17:07 Beautiful, beautiful back-to-back rounds for Ruben Villa.
17:13 Villagrana now has got to answer, how can he, Dre?
17:19 What can he do to try to work his way back?
17:22 - I think he's got a sellout,
17:23 meaning he can't be afraid to get hit
17:25 because he's getting hit anyway.
17:26 He's got to try to land a big shot.
17:28 He's got to try to throw both hands
17:30 and hope that something lands.
17:31 Doesn't sound like a great game plan,
17:33 but that's the only shot that he has
17:34 because he can't box a Ruben Villa.
17:36 We've seen that for the duration of this fight.
17:39 He's getting hit while he's trying to cover up.
17:42 The skill set is not on the same level.
17:44 The mind game is not on the same level.
17:45 So the best shot that he has is to let his shots go
17:48 and hope that something lands.
17:50 - Down to the body.
17:54 What I really respect and appreciate
17:56 about what we're seeing from Villa tonight
17:57 is the way he's changed it up
17:59 with the different shots he's been able to be effective with.
18:01 You've seen the uppercut, you've seen the body shots,
18:03 you've seen the left hand, you've seen the jab.
18:05 - He's fighting with a sense of urgency,
18:06 but he's not in a rush.
18:08 I like it.
18:16 - Good right hook right there from Ruben Villa.
18:18 Villagrana still dangerous because he's on his feet
18:26 and he's still looking for that right uppercut
18:28 and one punch can change everything.
18:30 Though I don't think it's likely in this fight.
18:32 - Beautiful shot down to the body
18:33 and then that sets up the left hand up top for Villa.
18:36 - Villa's sitting down and loading up on the right shots
18:39 when he's got the right position.
18:41 So accurate.
18:44 - He's been getting so many clean shots.
18:46 - Villagrana's tough though, man.
18:49 He's gonna go right back to the ropes
18:51 and take some more of those left hands.
18:53 - He's not gonna lay down,
18:55 you gotta help him out a little bit.
18:57 - And the ref might just do that, Dre.
18:59 And indeed he does.
19:01 He steps in, stops him from taking any more punishment
19:04 and Ruben Villa collects win number 20,
19:08 much to his hometown crowd delight.
19:10 - That's how you come back on the scene
19:12 after losing to Emmanuel Neberete.
19:14 I know he's had a fight since then,
19:16 but this is his first fight back on this stage.
19:19 Took an eight round fight, no problem.
19:21 Now he gets that 10 rounder
19:22 and starts to position himself little by little
19:25 for that title shot once again.
19:27 - Fantastic performance.
19:30 And you look down his record.
19:31 I mean, that fight in 2019 against Venado Lopez,
19:35 Luis Alberto Lopez,
19:36 that's aging real well for him right about now.
19:38 He's fighting for a world title in a couple of weeks,
19:40 Enrique Vivas.
19:41 - He's reminding everybody,
19:42 don't forget about Ruben Villa.
19:44 I've had to take some time off.
19:45 I've had some things happen contractual wise,
19:48 promotional wise, but I'm here.
19:50 And I think tonight was that statement.
19:51 And so many times,
19:53 fighters fail to make that statement when needed.
19:56 - Missed opportunity a lot of times.
19:57 We've seen that on our, earlier in the card tonight
20:00 by a couple of young fighters,
20:01 but not in the case of Ruben Villa.
20:03 He fought with an urgency tonight, like I said,
20:05 but he was not in a hurry.
20:06 And you got the sense that he was a man
20:08 with something to prove.
20:09 He proved it.
20:10 And with that kind of performance for me,
20:12 and I know that everybody in the arena tonight
20:14 and watching from home,
20:15 you want to see more of him.
20:17 When is he fighting again?
20:19 That's the kind of performance he needed.
20:20 And that's the kind of performance he got.
20:23 - And you know what part of that motivation is?
20:24 Not only fighting here in his hometown,
20:27 he's got a baby girl on the way.
20:28 He has a daughter due in July.
20:31 And so he really wants to be able to provide
20:32 the best life he can for his growing family.
20:35 Got the job done tonight.
20:37 Congratulations to Ruben Villa.
20:40 We'll take a look at the stoppage here
20:41 before we get to the official announcement.
20:43 - The best way he can provide for his baby girl
20:51 is to continue to fight like this and continue to win.
20:54 Because when you win in this sport, the money goes up.
20:57 Opportunity comes knocking,
20:59 and you put yourself and your family
21:01 in the best position to win.
21:03 Moment seized tonight by Ruben Villa.
21:06 - And Rick Merigian as your manager
21:07 is going to make sure he gets you that money too.
21:09 - Right, absolutely.
21:10 Here's Mark Chavez.
21:12 - Ladies and gentlemen, here inside
21:14 the Stockton Arena, referee Gerard White
21:16 calls a halt to this bout at one minute, 55 seconds
21:20 of round number five.
21:23 For your winner by knockout,
21:25 Ruben "Drac" Villa!
21:28 The Porsche!
21:30 - Congratulations once again.
21:35 Your winner by TKO tonight,
21:37 improving his record to 20 and one.
21:40 Joe Test is up on the call next.
21:41 I'm sliding over to the international broadcast.
21:43 It's been a pleasure, Dre, Tim, everybody.
21:45 - Thank you.
21:46 - Still to come, Gabe Flores Jr. versus Derek.