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SportsTranscript
00:00Okay, guys, we went over the rules in the dressing room.
00:01Any punches here will be legal.
00:03Anything here will be legal.
00:05When I say break, I expect you to break.
00:06When I say stop, I want you to stop and protect yourself
00:08and take a step back.
00:09Touch him up, scoot back.
00:13Tale of the tape for our opening contest.
00:16Eight rounds at 130 pounds.
00:17Gio Lopez with a two-inch edge in the wingspan.
00:22Medina has had more rounds experience,
00:24and it's expected that he will try to give Lopez
00:28a few more rounds as Lopez continues his learning curve.
00:31Again, a highly-touted prospect
00:33against a guy who's only 23,
00:35but Medina is looking to get back in the win column
00:38after his second straight setback.
00:40The bell and round number one.
00:44The referee, Robert Hoyle.
00:46The southpaw, Lopez.
00:49Medina is one and one against lefties in his last four fights.
00:52His first loss came against the then-undefeated southpaw
00:56in Raymond Ford's set.
00:58He learned he has to bring more pressure to the lefties,
01:00has to establish his jab more against the southpaw.
01:04Easier said than done, especially against Lopez.
01:06You know, if you put pressure on him,
01:08you're liable to walk into something early, especially,
01:11so he's got to be careful.
01:13I mean, I like the idea of pressure,
01:15but it's not always the smartest thing to do
01:17this early against a home-run hitter like Lopez.
01:19The explosive reflexes of Lopez already on display,
01:22establishing the lead hand, the right,
01:24and then landing that left hand to the body
01:27of Eddie Abner.
01:28You are very impressed with what you've seen.
01:30It's been early days for Gio Lopez,
01:33but he seems like he has the makings of a future champion.
01:36In fact, Eddie Reynoso says he's going to be
01:38a future two-division champion.
01:41Within two years, he says, and I can see that.
01:44Look it, he's so patient.
01:45Look at Lopez, how he's just waiting.
01:47He's so precise, selective with his punches,
01:49and great defense, great defense right there from Lopez.
01:52Again, you don't see that from young fighters like him.
01:55Medina trying to parry Lopez's jab
01:57and come over the top of the left hook.
01:58Instead, there is Lopez right on the mark, Gio,
02:01with that straight left down the middle.
02:03Yeah, that left hand he threw was a little roundhouse,
02:06and Medina had the right hand up for that.
02:09That didn't come straight down the middle,
02:10but he will start switching up,
02:12coming straight down the middle
02:13and coming around with that left hand.
02:14All about the foot positioning.
02:16You see the lateral movement already for Lopez,
02:19utilizing angles, trying to bait,
02:22trying to set a trap for Medina.
02:25Yeah, definitely, Lopez trying to do that.
02:27Good again into the corner, there it is!
02:29Pops the mouthpiece right out of Medina's mouth
02:32and nails him with a short right hook.
02:34So, the power of Lopez already on display.
02:37Medina biting down, I would say, on his gun shield,
02:40but it's out of his mouth.
02:42Now, I have to tell you, after that mouthpiece
02:46being come out, when it came back to the corner here,
02:49Lopez threw a left uppercut
02:50and got countered by a right hand from Medina.
02:52That was a slick move.
02:53So, he's got to get that hand back quickly.
02:55Lopez does after that left uppercut.
02:57Medina's been down once in his career.
02:59Round two against Omar Castillo back in June of 2021.
03:03Medina went on to win a unanimous decision in eight rounds,
03:08but already feeling the power of the face
03:11tells the story.
03:12You can tell right away that left hand did damage.
03:15Obviously, he took it like a champ, Medina did.
03:18But look at his eyes, already cut open.
03:21Really precise punches there from Lopez.
03:23And it's just a matter of time, to be honest, guys.
03:26It's just how he's doing.
03:27He's being patient right now, Lopez.
03:29And he's so good at putting his punches together.
03:32Yeah, that was a nice straight left hand
03:33to the body right hook by Lopez.
03:36And he's switching up, and that's good.
03:38Don't be ahead, Hunter.
03:39Go up and down, mix up your punches.
03:41Poised, calm, cold, and explosive.
03:44We have seen a little bit of everything
03:46from Gio Lopez in the opening three minutes.
03:50And his second career fight here in Las Vegas,
03:53Lopez kicking off the prelims here on prime
03:57from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
04:00He is trained by Eddie Reynoso, who I mentioned
04:02will be in Canelo's corner as well.
04:04But so far tonight, a huge opportunity here for Lopez.
04:08Hall of Fame trainer Joe Goosen, former three division
04:10champion Abner Marez.
04:12Who cares who I am except my parents?
04:14Mauro Domenico Ranallo.
04:16Lots to talk about with Lopez, especially.
04:18Lopez, look, he may be moving up to another division.
04:22You can tell by his body, he's huge.
04:24He's really a big kid.
04:25He's in shape.
04:25You can tell he trimmed down real well for this fight.
04:27He's moving up.
04:28He's only 21.
04:29But what a puncher.
04:29Look, Medina, though, let me just tell you something.
04:32We'll probably see the mouthpiece come out here
04:34pretty soon.
04:35I mean, that's the replay I'd imagine
04:37we're going to see right here.
04:39There, it was a short left hand.
04:40He didn't really turn it over.
04:42He didn't get to turn his knuckles over,
04:43but yet that's the power he's got.
04:45Still knocked the mouthpiece out.
04:48Lopez on a three-fight knockout streak.
04:50It's coming off his fifth career first-round KO
04:53against Leonardo Padilla back in July here in Las Vegas.
04:57But again, Abner, just 21 years of age,
05:00his 17th pro fight, 16 and 0 with 12 KOs.
05:03He is so much still to learn and improve,
05:06but the fundamentals are in place.
05:08And here is a huge opportunity for him
05:11to make a statement as we kick off
05:13the PBC prelims on pride.
05:15Yeah, and it's just a beautiful thing
05:16to get an early knockout, spectacular knockout early on.
05:20But for Lopez, you want those rounds.
05:22You want to get the experience.
05:23And it seems like Medina's going to give him that tonight
05:25because he's taking some shots really well.
05:27He's still walking forward.
05:29So again, I think we're going to see some rounds again.
05:32Gio Lopez just has to work and keep doing what he's doing.
05:34Lopez establishing that long-range jab again.
05:37Joe has the two-inch wingspan advantage
05:40and sets up that lethal left hand.
05:43Very much, again, the style of a guy we will see
05:46in our co-feature, the southpaw is Landy Lara,
05:49and he's fighting Danny Garcia.
05:50Garcia had his mouthpiece knocked out
05:52against Lucas Medina, and what was his biggest win?
05:55That came 11 years ago tonight.
05:58And I will tell you, Medina, I got to give him a little...
06:00Ooh, that's where he's good at.
06:01That's where he's good at, in the inside.
06:02Yes, sir. That's right.
06:04And this is where he wants to be
06:06because Gio Lopez has not mastered the inside yet,
06:10although he can rip that left hand,
06:12that uppercut to the body, like right there.
06:14Yeah, he's not as comfortable in the inside, Lopez,
06:17even though he's landed some shots there,
06:18but it's all Medina there,
06:20and that's what he has to do, being the smaller fighter.
06:22Yeah, we've seen the lack of comfort on the inside
06:26can be pressured, and really, I mean,
06:2817th for a fight, Gio is still out on his powers.
06:31He continues to grow as a fighter
06:33and, again, levels to this thing,
06:35and Medina is posing a stern test,
06:38but Lopez is managing to connect
06:40with some nice-looking combinations.
06:42And, again, Medina's taking those shots really well.
06:44He's investing in the body right now,
06:46and that's what he wants to do,
06:47but also Lopez, beautiful uppercut right there
06:50and a body shot as well.
06:51And Medina was the one who pulled out of that clinch,
06:53so he had a little bit too much right there,
06:55and he backed out, and, of course,
06:57Lopez picked up the slack and came right back in.
06:59Look, Lopez is gonna land that left uppercut
07:01right there to the body.
07:02That was a little low, but that's his go-to punch
07:05on the inside is that left uppercut.
07:07Final minute of action, high volume.
07:10In fact, after the first round,
07:11where Lopez went 26 of 57,
07:15including scoring 11 punches,
07:17Medina was only 7 of 30,
07:19but in this round, Medina's 13 of 45,
07:22Lopez, 22 of 39,
07:25so higher level of accuracy for Lopez in round two
07:29as he continues to fight at close quarters with Medina.
07:33Yeah, you can see the experience also for Medina
07:35working in the inside,
07:36working with his free hand,
07:38not so much from Lopez, but, again,
07:39not so much power from Medina.
07:41Left by Lopez, beautiful right hook,
07:43left hand upstairs by the undefeated fighter.
07:45Yes, exactly, and he's hurting Medina
07:48with those punches right there.
07:53You got to be impressed with Lopez's body work
07:56outlanding Medina, 29 to 5,
07:59thus far making that early investment.
08:01Yeah, those were nice, short shots,
08:04but, again, the hard, powerful ones were landed by Lopez.
08:10Here we go.
08:11There's a little bam right there,
08:12right on the belt.
08:13That was not below the belt.
08:14That was right on it.
08:15Then he finished with the left hook
08:17and dropped a little overhand left.
08:20And those hurt, Joe.
08:21You know that.
08:23He boxes with all those short body shots hurt.
08:27You remember the arm?
08:28Turn it like this and hit, boom,
08:30and then watch it.
08:35Eddie Reynoso instructing Lopez in that corner.
08:40Valuable advice, and, of course,
08:42being around Canelo Alvarez doesn't hurt.
08:45He admires Canelo for his discipline and dedication.
08:48Canelo says that, for him to be successful,
08:52Lopez, what he likes about him so far,
08:55Canelo says that Lopez has cajones.
08:59And he does that with a lot of power.
09:00Canelo says that Lopez has cajones.
09:04And he does.
09:05I mean, he's fighting in the inside.
09:06He fights the fight that Medina likes,
09:08but, again, he does that because he wants to learn.
09:10He wants to perfect that.
09:11He's good in the outside, as it is already.
09:14Yeah, for a guy, though, that wants to get on the inside,
09:18you've got the height and reach like Lopez does.
09:21I would do everything in my,
09:23everything I could to keep Medina on the outside.
09:26Oh, yeah, of course.
09:26That's the easy fight there.
09:28Double jab, left hand through the high guard
09:30of Medina by Lopez.
09:32Very patient, check hook, step off.
09:34But there's fighters who you could work the inside.
09:37Again, Lopez, I mean, Ricky only has eight knockouts,
09:41not that many knockouts, so you can take shots from him.
09:4454% connect rate for Lopez thus far.
09:4844 of 81, Medina just 17 of 59.
09:52Lopez utilizing the lateral movement,
09:54again, showing off all the wrinkles,
09:56and again, perfectly times that left hand
09:59to the face of Medina.
10:00And you can tell Lopez got his,
10:03he got his instructions in the corner
10:04to get out of that pocket and box this guy,
10:07and that's exactly what he's doing.
10:08You can tell that's what he was told.
10:10He's not hanging in that pocket right now,
10:12and nor should he be.
10:13As you mentioned, both you guys in that first round,
10:15if there's an area that he still needs work on
10:17is on the inside, so as you mentioned, Joe, great advice.
10:20Utilizing the ring, utilizing the lateral movement,
10:23establishing the jab, and making Medina mentally tired.
10:27Right, now, I say if Medina traps you,
10:29and you've got no choice,
10:31then you gotta work on your inside game,
10:32but you gotta get out as quick as you can,
10:34and back to your boxing game.
10:37Yeah, I wanna see Lopez change that left hand
10:39to an uppercut now.
10:41It's beautiful, it's landing as an uppercut right, left,
10:43I'm sorry, but it's an uppercut,
10:44I think that's gonna be the moneymaker.
10:47Medina going to the body on the clinch,
10:49under a minute left here in round three.
10:51Referee Hoyle calls for the break.
10:55And again, Lopez tied up Medina on the inside there
10:57instead of dealing with him, and then got out.
11:00Great reflexes by Lopez, able to pick off Medina.
11:04As soon as he initiates a step,
11:06he gets picked off with the left hand.
11:08Great shots by Lopez.
11:10Slipping those punches really good,
11:11and now it's time to come back after those slips.
11:15Yeah, that's the second time now Medina's gotten
11:17in the inside and Lopez has tied him up.
11:20He's not gonna deal with the inside,
11:21he doesn't need to right now.
11:22He's controlling this fight from the outside,
11:25and until he gets better at the inside game,
11:27this is a smart move.
11:29Less than 20 seconds left in the third round,
11:3111 of Lopez's 12 knockouts have come
11:34within the first three rounds,
11:35but again, this matchup was put together
11:38in hopes that Medina, I call him a veteran,
11:40he's only 23 years old, 18th pro fight,
11:42but they were hoping that he would give him different looks,
11:45and so far Lopez is passing the test.
11:51That's it, that's it, that's it, right there.
11:54Catch your breath, recover good.
11:55And we're gonna get some replays here from Lopez
11:57on how successful he was from that reach,
12:00from that distance, moving away from the ropes,
12:04getting Medina off balance.
12:06Beautiful jab, slip, there it is.
12:08I want him to come back after that slip.
12:10That'd be great counterpunch for Lopez,
12:12hoping that he does that in this next round.
12:14You're working too slow for you,
12:15have your balance right, Fink.
12:17Keep jabbing, working.
12:19Don't make it happen, it will happen,
12:20you know what I'm saying?
12:21See.
12:23Here, just handle your distance, man.
12:25If he lets you come,
12:26stretch him, and boom,
12:26get him here, and get him here,
12:28and come back.
12:29Okay?
12:30Short shooter, you know?
12:30Pass through one side, Gio,
12:32and then come back through the other.
12:34Hands up, okay?
12:35Come on, that's it, come on, man.
12:37Give him his rhythm, bastard.
12:38Come on, Gio!
12:39Come on, Gio!
12:40Come on, Gio!
12:41Come on, Gio!
12:42Come on, Gio!
12:42Come on, Gio!
12:43Come on, Gio!
12:44Come on, Gio!
12:45Come on, Gio!
12:46Come on, Gio!
12:47Let's go!
12:50Let me kinda take a shot at what went on in the corner.
12:52They were instructing Lopez
12:54to use his distance,
12:55and to use his movement in the box.
12:58Medina, that's a smart move,
12:59and those are the smart instructions.
13:03Ooh, wow!
13:05Lopez is exercising.
13:06Medina exploding,
13:07and Lopez's defense being tested.
13:10He's been known to be defensively responsible.
13:12Does keep that lean and low,
13:15and Medina testing the waters here in the fourth round,
13:19where he is trying to break down Lopez.
13:23Ooh, good body shot by Lopez.
13:26That's now toe-to-toe.
13:28That's what you wanna do if you're Medina.
13:30You wanna bring that dog,
13:31you wanna throw those punches.
13:33I mean, Lopez is good in the outside,
13:34but the inside game, it's all you, Medina.
13:37Lopez's biggest claim to fame thus far,
13:40being a frequent sparring partner for Naoya Inoue,
13:43says they sparred 50 rounds over a five-week period
13:46when he was a 20-year-old.
13:48Of course, Inoue sent Stephen Fulton Jr.
13:51to the ranks of the unbeaten.
13:53Fulton Jr. returns in our prelims feature attraction
13:55coming up against Carlos Castro later tonight,
13:59but now Lopez, after tasting some of the pressure
14:02from Medina, trying to find his rhythm again.
14:05Yeah, he's landing big shots right now, Lopez,
14:08and I'm gonna tell you,
14:08that left uppercut of that left hand
14:10is gonna come into play,
14:11and I have a feeling he's gonna hurt Medina with that
14:14in the next round or two, if not this round.
14:16Yeah, Medina came out strong as she should,
14:18but again, it's all about taking control of the fight,
14:21and I think that Gio Lopez is back on that,
14:23taking control of the fight.
14:26Medina Porn in San Antonio, Texas.
14:30Nice hotbed of boxing
14:31and showing that San Antonio fighting spirit.
14:35Going close quarters,
14:36and Lopez showing some veteran wrinkles,
14:39wrapping his arms up, getting the referee to step in,
14:41getting countered with a left hook upstairs by Medina,
14:44and again, Lopez, that lead hand, he drops it low.
14:48He drops it low and he pulls straight back.
14:49You gotta be careful with that, Lopez.
14:52Again, you're getting the experience,
14:55but those are things
14:56that you're gonna have to work on and perfect.
14:57Lopez said he'd look for the body shot
14:59wherever he could get it.
15:00He's ahead 38 to 17 in that department thus far.
15:06Yeah, and those are punches,
15:07I mean, mistakes you can't make against punchers.
15:09Medina, again, he's not a puncher, only eight knockouts,
15:12but Lopez is eating some shots.
15:15Yeah, Medina's, look, he's got one thing
15:18he's gotta do right now,
15:19and he can't lay back against Lopez.
15:21He's gotta put some pressure on and go for it,
15:24and that's not happening right now.
15:25Lopez is backing him up and hurting him.
15:28That's why Medina's moving backwards.
15:30Lopez at his preferred range here, launches the jab,
15:32and then lands a couple of left hands,
15:34backs up responsibly defensively
15:38as we are 10 seconds away from reaching
15:40the midpoint of the scheduled eight round contest.
15:43130 pounds, undefeated prospect, Gio Lopez leading the way.
15:54Hey, that was a good run.
15:56Good run, man.
15:56You can run up, you can box a little bit.
15:58You can get on the bike.
15:58How you feel?
15:59You can move, that's a good thing about you.
16:00You can box.
16:01What is this?
16:02What run is this?
16:03Inside, you can fight.
16:03Deep breath.
16:04Deep breath.
16:05I told you yesterday in the locker room,
16:06they always got you.
16:07What's the sixth?
16:08Fifth.
16:08Fifth, okay.
16:09Step in before you throw those punches.
16:11You're getting in real good.
16:12You look real nice.
16:13When you come in, get tight, Rick.
16:14Get tight and weave yourself in there.
16:16But as soon as you step in,
16:17you need to lift those fucking shots with grip
16:19and then get off to the sides.
16:20But stay on his ass, okay?
16:21Don't get out of range,
16:22because he wants you.
16:23He wants to get a run around.
16:24Stay in his ass for three fucking minutes.
16:25Don't stand right fucking in front of him
16:27just looking at him, all right?
16:28Deep breath.
16:29We're going to walk to the side.
16:30We're going to try to counter his backhand
16:30with that little hook, right?
16:32Good shit.
16:33I want more up because I'm a fucking inside.
16:34I want to work on advancement.
16:36All right, here's Medina.
16:38Right there.
16:39He landed a beautiful jab
16:40right before Lopez was able to get his punch off.
16:43And he countered quite well occasionally
16:47in that last round,
16:48but not enough to win the round.
16:49His corner just told Medina,
16:51you've got to get on him.
16:52You've got to stay on him.
16:53Because if you lay back,
16:54you're going to lose the round at best.
16:57And at worst, you're going to get hurt.
16:58Second half of this eight-round attraction
17:01at 130 pounds begins.
17:03Mauro Ranallo along with Hall of Fame trainer Joe Goosen,
17:06former three-division champion Abner Matas at ringside.
17:10Gio Lopez at 16 and 0 with 12 knockouts
17:15against the 15 and 2.
17:17Ricky Medina, again, coming off a loss
17:20in his last fight to George Acosta.
17:22So he wants to prove his worth
17:24and he wants to disrupt the apple cart,
17:26derail the hype train that is Gio Lopez.
17:29Yeah, Lopez may be winning this fight,
17:31but he's, you know, it's not an easy fight.
17:33Medina's making him work for every round
17:36that Lopez is winning.
17:37Well, Medina had his best round in the last round,
17:40round 4, 15 of 42,
17:42and yet Lopez countered 20 of 57,
17:45according to CompuBox.
17:46Because Medina gave up the pressure game
17:49and then started backing up the second half of the round.
17:51That's why he gave it away.
17:52And there is blood around the right eye of Gio Lopez.
17:56So adversity here in round five
17:59as the 21-year-old Lopez
18:01now having to deal with a cut around the right eye.
18:04And this is what being on the inside for Medina
18:07is doing for him right now.
18:08Plus, he landed a great short right hand
18:10off of Lopez in close.
18:12That is the first time he has been cut in his career.
18:15Yeah, it doesn't seem like it's bothering him at the moment.
18:18But yeah, it looks like a good cut.
18:21Again, he's got to work on this.
18:23And Lopez, again, you got to have these fights, Gio.
18:27You as a coach, you got to be happy
18:29that this is happening early in his career
18:32because it's going to happen in better fights, bigger levels.
18:36So for Lopez, this is a good fight.
18:38Yeah, you'd rather not have it happen ever,
18:41but eventually it will happen.
18:42It's boxing, contact sport, yeah.
18:44Lopez almost throwing himself off balance,
18:47swinging wildly with the right now,
18:48trying to again come forward on the front foot,
18:51establish the jab.
18:52Medina, his offense is being muted here
18:55with less than a minute now left
18:57after landing 15 punches in round four.
19:00Medina back to single digits here with 45 seconds left,
19:03a good combination.
19:04And that's something Lopez also putting together
19:07some crafty combos.
19:11Nice body work there from Medina.
19:17Nice one-two from the lefty Lopez.
19:22Medina now trying to set a trap,
19:24trying to find a way on the inside
19:27to get back to where he can put some pressure on Lopez,
19:29make him uncomfortable.
19:31I think Lopez is overthinking a little bit here, Joe.
19:33I mean, what do you think?
19:35Think he's waiting a little bit too long
19:36to let those punches go.
19:37When he does, he's so good at it.
19:39He's landing that well, but I think that's too much for him.
19:42He's going to be slowing down his punch output, Lopez.
19:44As long as he's keeping Medina on the outside
19:47and he's not letting him land, that's good for Lopez.
19:51Yeah, but he's giving Medina an opportunity to land as well.
19:55All right, let's see what happened to the eye.
19:58We're not sure if it was a headbutt,
20:00but most likely it was a headbutt inside.
20:02Agarra ahÃ, agarra ahÃ.
20:03I doubt it was caused by a punch.
20:08That was me all day.
20:09No, that's it.
20:11But it might as Christopher Diaz working on the cut.
20:14Yeah.
20:16Let's see what happened here.
20:18You see the head's right there,
20:19and there's a little short shot.
20:20Yeah, there's a head.
20:21Wait a minute now. The head hit the eye.
20:24There's the butt right there, Joe.
20:25It was a headbutt.
20:26The head hit the eye after the punch.
20:28And, hey, guys, I don't want Christopher Diaz
20:32to get mad at me because he actually works for Ricky Medina.
20:34That is Carlos Barragán, Jr.,
20:36who's working on the cut of Lopez.
20:39First cut of his career.
20:40There's adversity here.
20:42He is ahead in the fight, but as you mentioned,
20:44Andrew, these are the things, as a professional prize fighter,
20:47you have to work around.
20:49So here we go.
20:50Round number six, scheduled for eight.
20:53And it should be said that that cut
20:56is on the outside of the eyebrow,
20:58so that's good that the blood won't necessarily drip
21:01straight down into the eye.
21:02No, it won't bother him.
21:03It won't bother his vision whatsoever.
21:06Again, Lopez got to get on it.
21:07Double jab, left hand to the body,
21:09and now the combinations.
21:10Lopez really opening up well here.
21:12Coming off the cut, but he opens up the six in style.
21:16That's what you want to do if you're Lopez.
21:18You can't give Medina those moments.
21:20Medina doing what he has to do,
21:21make it a rough and tumble affair.
21:23He's not going to out-slick Gio Lopez.
21:25He needs to make it tough on the inside.
21:28Well, he's got a great incentive right now.
21:30Lopez's cut, this is a great incentive
21:32for Medina to get in there, maybe open it up more.
21:36You know, anything can happen with a cut.
21:37It can get stopped, the doctor can stop,
21:39the ref can stop, and we'll see.
21:41Yeah, even if you're down on the scorecard,
21:43sadly, as a fighter, that excites me,
21:45you know, seeing my opponent bleeding.
21:47But here's the thing, Medina's got to use this whole round.
21:50He's got to do three minutes,
21:51not two minutes and 50 seconds on the inside.
21:54He's got to impress him, and that's how he's going to win.
21:56Medina leaning in now, closing in.
21:58The referee Hoyle warning Lopez not to push his head down,
22:03and Joe Cousin, his brother, was a baseball pitcher.
22:07You have Lopez pitching a shutout through five rounds.
22:10I do. I think Medina is really on a sprint.
22:14Yeah, that's just a pushdown.
22:17Medina has spurts of, you know, good moments on the inside,
22:21but not enough to win the rounds.
22:22I think, you know, Lopez is landing the hard shots
22:25winning the fight.
22:28And now referee Hoyle is stepping in
22:30and not allowing Medina to really fight the fight
22:33that he would like to fight, as he again has realized,
22:36Abner, that he needs to keep it on the inside.
22:40That may be his only path to victory
22:41against a guy that's slick like that,
22:42who manages to counter Medina coming over the left.
22:46That's the distance. That's the range for Lopez.
22:48But, yeah, Medina is making it tough for Lopez,
22:50no doubt, in the inside.
22:51The overhand, and he keeps working with that free hand,
22:55Medina, so really good round right now for Medina,
22:58even though Lopez has had some good shots.
23:02Stop! Stop!
23:05Lopez started boxing when he was six years old,
23:08turned pro at 17,
23:09comes from a family of fighters for Medina.
23:13He started at seven.
23:15Lot of amateur experience.
23:16He also turned pro at 17.
23:18In fact, one of his closest pals
23:20is none other than the ring 115-pound division champ,
23:24Justin Bam Rodriguez.
23:2620 seconds remaining in the sixth.
23:31Bam, a great fighter, but this may be the first round
23:33that I'm gonna give Medina.
23:35Yeah, yeah, it's statistically very close, Joe.
23:37Yeah, really close.
23:39But I feel that Medina did a little bit more pressure.
23:42And it's unbelievable. Lopez started so well.
23:44Medina's come on, and he's closing the round, Medina.
23:48Although he did get clipped in that corner right there,
23:51a second blow by Lopez.
23:54Okay, you got this.
23:56Okay, push it. Push.
23:58Push yourself.
24:00Get some air.
24:02Recover. How do you feel?
24:05There's two rounds left.
24:06Doing well.
24:08You're beating him with speed.
24:09Get some air.
24:12Listen, turn real quick and hit.
24:14Don't stay there.
24:16Turn or hit or something. Step back.
24:18All right?
24:20We have one round left.
24:21Recover. Recover. Relax.
24:22You gotta come out strong these next two rounds.
24:26You got this shit.
24:29Use your jab, you know?
24:31Nice.
24:32Oh, damn.
24:34You gotta win the last two rounds.
24:36You got this, Wendy.
24:37These next two rounds with speed.
24:39Speed, speed.
24:41Multi-talented, multi-linguist Abner Manes
24:45doing it all here at the PBC Prelims on Prime
24:48as we get to round seven scheduled for 8 a.m.
24:51When we talked to Medina,
24:52he told us that he wanted to put Lopez back on his feet,
24:56that he can't really handle pressure that well,
24:58that he wanted to make life miserable,
25:00and he's doing it.
25:01He wanted to make life miserable,
25:03and he's had moments.
25:05The last two rounds have been moments,
25:06and he did have a much better round statistically,
25:09but overall, and I know every round is scored individually,
25:12Lopez is ahead.
25:14Without a doubt.
25:16Look, I mean, I bet at this point Medina's corner
25:19wishes this was a 10-round fight,
25:20not an 8-round fight.
25:21Yeah.
25:22Because Medina is coming on right now,
25:24just like this, and he's giving Lopez trouble.
25:27He's making it very difficult for Lopez
25:29to get off the punches he wants to get off.
25:31Yeah, and this is gonna come with the experience for Lopez.
25:34He has moments where he takes one, two step back,
25:37and then he's got the opening for an open shot,
25:39but he doesn't take it.
25:40So again, you know, that's gonna come
25:42with the experience for Lopez.
25:43He's not starting strong like the corner told him,
25:45so winning too much in this round.
25:47Medina's 5-and-1 with one knockout
25:49in scheduled 8-round fights.
25:51Again, coming off the loss in his last fight,
25:54and you look at the total punches landed round per round.
25:58And, yes, at the last round, it was very close, very even.
26:04And that's why I gave Medina that last round.
26:08Ricky Medina Jr., El Castigo, the punishment.
26:11Well, he wants to work on punishing Lopez on the inside,
26:15but that jab, that long stick of Lopez could be hooved.
26:19Threw out the knife, beautiful.
26:20Snapping left hand by Lopez.
26:22Great vision, great presence, great lateral movement.
26:26Yeah, really good accuracy right there.
26:28Got a really good IQ from Lopez.
26:30The one-two, you don't need much.
26:31The fundamentals, one-two, step back,
26:34get out of the danger zone, get out of the ropes.
26:36Yeah, Lopez pulled a nice little delayed feint
26:39and then dropped that left hand twice on Medina.
26:42Hurt both times.
26:44Yeah, he's fighting a smart fight.
26:45Look, he's got two more rounds, he's got a cut.
26:47Doesn't need to get any bigger.
26:49Finish this fight, whether you get a knockout or a decision,
26:51and go on from there, because this is a great learning curve
26:55for Lopez in this fight.
26:56Final minute of the seventh round,
26:58and you talk about the learning curve.
26:59He gets to sit under the learning tree
27:01of the likes of Canelo.
27:03He frequently watches fellow south Pajaron boots
27:06and is one of the best fighters in the sport.
27:08So at 21 undefeated, still very much in the learning stages
27:13of a promising career.
27:15And here Medina looking to promise some punishment
27:18to the body, but Hoyle again,
27:20warns Lopez for pushing his head down.
27:23Yeah, that's Lopez pushing Medina's head down.
27:26Smart move there, because that stops him
27:29from coming, obviously.
27:30But again, you know, Lopez doing all the right things,
27:33and Medina also making this fight really tough for him.
27:35And another close round.
27:36Yeah, another close round.
27:3812 of 36 for Lopez, 10 of 33 for Medina.
27:41They both have landed seven body shots.
27:44But Lopez has landed the hardest shots.
27:46And it's about to punch him in the face.
27:49Three of them at the end of the round.
27:51And Medina's lucky that happened
27:52in the last two seconds of the round.
27:54There's a tempest in your left hand.
27:57You all right?
27:58Yeah.
28:00You cannot stay on the fucking ropes.
28:02You've got to make him go back.
28:03You understand me?
28:04One more round, baby.
28:05Deep breath for me.
28:06Deep breath for me.
28:08That was a headbutt, right, right?
28:09One more fucking round, okay?
28:11One more fucking round, okay?
28:12All right, here we go.
28:13Here's Medina backed into the corner.
28:15And boom, right hand low, left hand high.
28:20He had him looking the other way.
28:21Now he's really hurt.
28:23If there were 10, 15 more seconds in this round,
28:25Medina would have been gone.
28:26Yeah, I didn't get lucky.
28:27Boy, you can tell by his eyes right there.
28:30He's still holding this guy.
28:32How he was walking.
28:33He was out of balance, yeah.
28:35He was like, check, please.
28:37Check, please, exactly.
28:42Well, he got a gut check for sure at the end of the round.
28:45And this is that eighth and final round
28:48as Gio La Rocca, the Rock Lopez at 21,
28:52looking to improve to 17 and 0,
28:54while Ricky Medina, the 23-year-old,
28:56looking to get back on track after his second loss.
28:59Does Lopez try to go for the knockout
29:01here in the last round?
29:01He should, he should.
29:02Exactly.
29:03BBC prelims on Prime.
29:04It's a Canelo pay-per-view.
29:05He got all the experience he needed in this fight.
29:08Now, get the knockout at the very end.
29:10He likes a knockout.
29:11He's never scored a knockout beyond this round.
29:15And here it is, the eighth and final round.
29:18Good defense there.
29:19Nice pivot.
29:20Good turn by Lopez.
29:22That'll be cherry on the cake for Lopez.
29:24He boxed really good.
29:25He did a fantastic job.
29:27Medina obviously gave him a hard fight,
29:29but ending it with a knockout.
29:30He's almost doubled him up in total connects
29:32throughout the fight as Lopez.
29:34Stop, stop.
29:34Got you.
29:35Well, on my notes here,
29:36I have two words to describe Medina.
29:39Tough and brave.
29:40And he's really showing that right now.
29:42Is and a word?
29:43That's three words.
29:45First minute of the eighth.
29:47We're busting those cojones, aren't we?
29:50A minute gone here in the eighth and final round.
29:51There's that sharp jab.
29:53And you wonder what the corner instructed him
29:55to do in this final round.
29:56And Joe, you as a coach,
29:57I mean, you might be a little bit frustrated there
30:00with Lopez because you feel,
30:01you know that he can go out there and finish this guy,
30:03but he's taking his time.
30:04He's waiting too long for my liking.
30:06There is uppercut that Lopez known for that uppercut.
30:09One of the rare occasions we have seen tonight.
30:11He loves that left uppercut on the inside.
30:13Now, if Medina was a knockout puncher,
30:18you might say box.
30:20You know, this round, just get out of the fight,
30:21but he isn't.
30:22He's got a 50% knockout ratio.
30:24Basically, I would go for it.
30:26He could risk it.
30:27Coming into this fight,
30:28Lopez's biggest win,
30:29a 10 round unanimous decision
30:31over former world title challenger, Eduardo Baez.
30:34Back in June of last year,
30:36he dropped Baez in round nine,
30:38won a clear 10 round decision.
30:41So he continues to grow as a fighter,
30:44overcoming the first cut of his career here,
30:47midway through this fight.
30:49And with a minute now left,
30:52Gio Lopez, will he search for his 13th knockout,
30:55or will he be content to cruise to another victory,
30:59another step as he grows as a professional prize fighter?
31:04The corner's done a great job.
31:05Oh!
31:06On the left hand,
31:07down goes Medina for the second time in his career.
31:11He's having a hard time getting out of there.
31:14Come to me, come to me.
31:15You want to continue?
31:16Yeah.
31:16You good?
31:17Yeah, show me something.
31:18Lopez looking to close the show in style.
31:22It's all been thanks to that left hand.
31:24Medina trying to show that double toughness,
31:27trying to survive to the final round.
31:3020 seconds.
31:31Final bell.
31:35Lopez sitting down on the punches.
31:38Has Medina on the ropes.
31:40It's Medina's corner,
31:42instructing him to tie Lopez up.
31:4410 seconds left.
31:45Oh!
31:46Oh!
31:47Oh!
31:48Oh!
31:49So Lopez goes eight full rounds,
31:52overcomes a cut,
31:53knocks Medina down in the eighth,
31:56and we'll take this fight going away.
31:59Wow, that was a great fight, number one.
32:01Lopez learned a lot,
32:04and Medina really hung in there tough.
32:06You got to give him credit.
32:07No, no doubt.
32:08And the three words are right.
32:11The rope cut won Medina in that eighth round.
32:13Tough and brave.
32:16Let's look at the replays here from Lopez.
32:19Beautiful left, and there's the...
32:20Oh, again, he set it up.
32:22He set it up with the right hook.
32:24The left hand came straight into the chin of Medina.
32:28Down he went.
32:29And you saw he actually pulled Medina's left hand down
32:33with that right hook.
32:34That was a smart move.
32:36And then dropped the left hand in.
32:38We got to give it to Medina, too.
32:39He got up and he finished this fight.
32:42They did a great job stopping the blood
32:44in the corner on that cut on Lopez's eye.
32:47That's a nasty little cut.
32:48That's going to take a few stitches.
32:49Yeah, Medina has been defeated twice.
32:53Never stopped.
32:54Lost again, as we mentioned,
32:55to Raymond Ford back in June of 2022
32:58via 10-round unanimous decision.
33:01Ford was also a lefty, remember?
33:03And now he faces, well, his third lefty beat
33:07Juan Antonio Lopez in May of 23, two fights ago.
33:10But Medina in tough against the 21-year-old Gio Lopez.
33:14Incurred that cut around the right eye,
33:17but appears to be a cut above
33:19when it comes to this fight tonight.
33:21Let's get the official decision.
33:25Ladies and gentlemen, after eight rounds of action,
33:28we go to the judges' scorecards.
33:31All three judges are in agreement, 80 to 71,
33:35for your winner by unanimous decision
33:38and still undefeated, Gio LaRocca Lopez.
33:46So, on the first fight of the night
33:49here on the PBC prelims on Prime,
33:51Gio Lopez, who's trained by Eddie Reynoso,
33:54who also trains Canelo, who, of course,
33:55will defend his lineal super middleweight title
33:58in the main event.
33:59But Lopez improves to-