Adam Lopez says he won’t get into a ‘dogfight’ with Dogboe

Top-of-the-line matchups going down on a loaded Saturday is a featherweight bout that includes up-and-comer Adam Lopez and former 122-pound beltholder Isaac Dogboe on the Naoya Inoue-Michael Dasmarinas undercard on Saturday at Virgin Motels in Las Vegas.

The scheduled 10-rounder shall be a part of the ESPN/ESPN+ broadcast (6:30 p.m. ET begin time for the ESPN+ undercard / 10 p.m. ET for ESPN telecast).

Dogboe (21-2, 15 KOs), an aggressive boxer-puncher from Ghana, has the sting in expertise with spectacular stoppage victories towards Cesar Juarez (TKO 5) and Jessie Magdaleno (KO 11), which kicked off a quick reign as WBO titleholder.

Adam Lopez and coach Buddy McGirt.

Lopez (15-2, 6 KOs), a hardnosed technician from Southern California, has a major edge in top and attain over the 5-foot-4 Dogboe – if he chooses to make use of these bodily benefits.

The 25-year-old son of former light-weight/junior welterweight contender Hector Lopez advised The Ring that his thoughts is about on outboxing and outclassing Dogboe.

“My gameplan is to frustrate him,” Lopez advised The Ring previous to a exercise in Lake Balboa, California final week. “I’m going to work my jab as a result of we all know he has a tough time with lengthy (rangy) fighters, as he misplaced to (Emanuel) Navarrete, so I’m going to provide him plenty of jabs, up and down, to his chest, to his shoulders, to his abdomen. (I’m simply going to) jab him for about six rounds, break him down, make him miss quite a bit, get him annoyed and as soon as he will get there then he’s going to get determined and begin winging pictures. As soon as he begins winging pictures, I’ve obtained him the place I would like him, and I can begin working him into huge pictures.”

Lopez talked about Emanuel Navarrete, the present WBO featherweight titleholder, who’s the one professional fighter to have crushed Dogboe – first by unanimous determination in 2018 after which by way of 12^th-round stoppage in 2019. Navarrete, The Ring’s No. 2-rated featherweight, is tall and rangy like Lopez, however he has an ungainly pressure-fighting, volume-punching type.

That’s not Lopez’s type, however his mentality – a few of which can have been handed down from his father, who may field fantastically however by no means backed down from a dogfight (in or out of the ring) – generally swings towards the warrior finish of the boxing spectrum.

Lopez admits that his willingness to face and commerce, and his zeal to attain a knockout, made his final two bouts – shut 10-round majority choices over Luis Coria and Jason Sanchez – quite a bit more durable than they need to have been.

Adam Lopez (proper) and Jason Sanchez go at it throughout their 10-round struggle in February 2021. Picture by Mikey Williams/Prime Rank Inc by way of Getty Photos

“The Coria struggle, which was final June, was undoubtedly more durable than I anticipated and (each had been) more durable than they need to have been,” Lopez mentioned. “However they had been each studying experiences, particularly my final struggle (vs. Sanchez).

“It was on me why it was so shut. I’ve discovered from it, and I perceive why it was so shut. I put plenty of strain on myself desirous to get a stoppage. I referred to as for it, I mentioned ‘I’m going to cease this child,’ as a result of nobody had ever performed that to Sanchez, and I wished to be the primary. So, I used to be forcing plenty of pictures, I used to be very stiff, and simply worrying about energy pictures.

“That’s not the kind of fighter I’m. I’ve by no means been the kind of fighter to simply stroll you down and muscle you out. I’ve at all times been form of a finesse fighter, mild on my toes, and I work properly off my rhythm. Once I’m in my groove and placing my pictures collectively in rhythm, that’s after I’ve scored knockdowns and knockouts.

“After the fourth spherical (vs. Sanchez), I wasn’t feeling good, and I began having a dialog with myself, in my head. I used to be like ‘Yo, what are you doing? Let’s get again to what we usually do.’ I shook it off. I relaxed and began bouncing on my toes and obtained again to my jab, and after that it was fairly simple.

“I really feel like that proper there’s how I want to start out (the Dogboe) struggle from Spherical 1 to Spherical 10.”

Simpler mentioned than performed. Dogboe, 26, is just a yr older than Lopez and nonetheless hungry for an additional shot at a world title. The Ghanaian will probably deliver the ruckus on Saturday and Lopez is ready for relentless strain having sparred with ultra-aggressive Ring-rated junior featherweight Azat Hovhannisyan and bantamweight prospect John “Scrappy” Ramirez (5-0, 4 KOs), however Lopez suspects that Dogboe would possibly take a extra tactical method beneath the steering of latest coach Barry Hunter.

Isaac Dogboe (left) was extra measured than common in his final bout vs. Chris Avalos. Picture by Mikey Williams/Prime Rank

“Hunter has calmed him down somewhat bit,” Lopez mentioned. “(Dogboe) is much less of a bulldozer and attempting to select his pictures and use a jab. Hunter’s undoubtedly slowed him down a bit and I feel that’s to my benefit. If he provides me time to suppose, he’s going to provide me time to arrange my pictures and let me get in my rhythm. I really feel like his greatest weapon towards me is his strain, attempting to crowd me and never let me get the house for my pictures. But when he takes his time and tries to field, I don’t suppose he’s going to have any success.

“I don’t suppose he can field with me. He’s going to should make it a dogfight, and that’s what I’m going to keep away from.”

What he’s not going to keep away from is a title shot as quickly as potential. Regardless of the struggles with Coria and Sanchez, Lopez thinks he’s nearly prepared; partly as a result of, like Dogboe, his solely losses are to present world titleholders.

In his ninth professional bout (and his first eight rounder), Lopez dropped a majority determination to unbeaten WBO 122-pound titleholder Stephen Fulton, The Ring’s No. 3-rated junior featherweight; and in a breakout efficiency in November 2019, he took on undefeated Oscar Valdez on one day’s notice, dropping the previous featherweight beltholder earlier than being halted in Spherical 7. Valdez, who was making his 130-pound debut (after Lopez weighed in at 126 kilos), went on to knockout closely favored Miguel Berchelt in February, successful the WBC title and leaping to No. 2 in The Ring’s junior light-weight rankings.

“If I shine towards Dogboe I feel there’s a motive to struggle for title or be in line for a title shot inside a struggle or two,” he mentioned. “Fulton’s sizzling proper now. Valdez is sizzling proper now. I discovered quite a bit preventing them. These bouts made me higher. I’m nearly prepared, and if I struggle both of them once more, they’re not going to beat me twice.

“And phrase is that Navarette would possibly transfer as much as 130 kilos quickly. If that’s true, we’ll goal the vacant WBO title. If he stays at 126 kilos, I’d like to struggle him.”