Emmanuel Rodriguez to fight Melvin Lopez for vacant 118-pound title

Press Release

17/07/2023

Emmanuel Rodriguez to fight Melvin Lopez for vacant 118-pound title

Former IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez will fight for his old title against streaking Melvin Lopez live on Showtime on Saturday, August 12th in a Premier Boxing Champions event from The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Maryland. The Showtime Championship Boxing telecast begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will also see Maryland native Gary Antuanne Russell taking on fellow unbeaten Kent Cruz in the ten-round junior weltertweight co-feature, plus Maryland native Travon Marshall dueling the controversial Gabriel Maestre in the ten-round welterweight telecast opener. Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased through www.mgmnationalharbor.com/.
 
“This show on August 12th is jam-packed with action for boxing fans as they will get an exciting world title clash in addition to some of the area’s top rising talent in tough contests live on Showtime,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “Emmanuel Rodriguez is hungry to make a second run as world champion at bantamweight and will be given all he can handle by the red-hot Melvin Lopez. With two of Maryland’s top rising stars in Gary Antuanne Russell and Travon Marshall stepping in for separate bouts before that showdown, this lines up to be a can’t-miss card at MGM National Harbor.”
 
Fighting out of Manati, Puerto Rico, Rodríguez (21-2, 13 KOs) defeated the previously unbeaten Gary Antonio Russell last October by technical decision to put himself back into position to fight for the world title. The 30-yea -old originally won the IBF title with a unanimous decision victory over Paul Butler in 2018 and successfully defended it against the then-unbeaten Jason Moloney. Rodríguez went on to lose the title to former undisputed champion Naoya Inoue in their May 2019 title bout. Inoue vacated the title after unifying all four belts and moving up to super bantamweight.
 
“I’m happy to have this chance to become a world champion again,” said Rodriguez. “We’re gonna go out there to win in spectacular fashion and my goal is to show that I’m the best fighter in the world at 118-pounds. My goal is to become undisputed at bantamweight, however I’m not overlooking Melvin Lopez, because he’s a good fighter and will come to give it his all on August 12th.”
 
The 25-year-old Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs) has won eight straight fights since suffering his only career loss in October 2019. Originally from Nicaragua and now fighting out of Miami, Lopez has fought professionally since 2015 and began competing stateside in 2018. Lopez scored three victories in 2022, starting the year with knockouts of Juan Gabriel Medina and Victor Ruiz, before most recently defeating Jobert Alvarez last December. Out of his last 10 victories, Lopez has ended nine of those inside of the distance.
 
“I’m very excited that the time is almost here to fight for a world title,” said Lopez. “We’ve had a great training camp and everyone has sacrificed and worked hard so that we’re at our best on August 12. I’m going to show everyone why I earned this opportunity and repay my team for all of their efforts. I have a lot of respect for Emmanuel, but the best man will have his hand raised when we share the ring.”

Fighting out of his native Capitol Heights, Md., Russell (16-0, 16 KOs) will carry on the legacy left by his late father Gary Sr. A member of one of the sport’s preeminent fighting families, Russell trains alongside his older brothers, former WBC featherweight champion Gary Jr. and bantamweight contender Gary Antonio. The 26-year-old has yet to allow an opponent to make it to the final bell since turning pro in 2017 following his run representing the U.S. at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. Russell defeated his most accomplished foes to date in 2022, stopping former champion Viktor Postol in February before a TKO win against former two-division champion Rances Barthelemy in July.
 
“When you’re a student of the game like me, you have to consider that each step we take is about more than self-gratification. We’re doing this for keeps,” said Russell. “Kent Cruz has to catch up to me, but there’s no need for me to look back. The only direction I’m going is forward and that means putting on a spectacular performance on August 12, and proving I’m the next world champion in this division.”
 
The 30-year-old Cruz (16-0-3, 10 KOs) steps back into the ring after a pair of draws against fellow unbeaten Enriko Gogokhia in February and then November 2022. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Cruz defeated veterans Erik Humberto Castillo and Travis Hartman following a draw against Carlos Mohamed Rodriguez in April 2018. Cruz will pick up his past ring history with the Russell family on August 12, looking to avenge an amateur loss to Gary Allan Russell, Gary Antuanne’s older brother.
 
“I’m very excited for this fight on August 12th,” said Cruz. “I’ve been waiting for a fight like this my whole career, so we didn’t hesitate when offered this one. I’m coming in as the underdog and that’s what’s fueling me. I’ve been an underdog my whole life and on August 12 I’m gonna shock the world. When I win this fight, I’ll be in contention to fight for a world title and have my chance to achieve my childhood dream.”
 
At just 22-years-old, Marshall (8-0, 7 KOs) has quickly shown the skill, power and poise to become a highly regarded prospect in just eight fights. Born in Landover, Md., and now fighting out of Capitol Heights, Md., Marshall is trained by former contender Andrew Council and has already scored two stoppages in 2023. Most recently he dominated veteran contender Justin DeLoach via third-round knockout in March, his most impressive victory to date.
 
“I’m really excited to be fighting at home in front of my family, friends and fans on August 12,” said Marshall. “I’m working hard every day in the gym so that when fight night comes I’m 100% and ready to put on a great performance for everyone watching. My goal is to show everyone that I belong on the big stage, and that starts with a victory over Gabriel Maestre.”
 
A two-time Olympian for his home country of Venezuela, Maestre had an extensive amateur run that included victories over Brian Castano, Carlos Adames, Alexander Besputin, Oscar Molina and Brian Ceballo. The 36-year-old made his U.S. debut with a controversial decision victory over Mykal Fox in August 2021 before fighting fellow unbeaten Taras Shelestyuk to a draw last March. Most recently, Maestre defeated former two-division champion Devon Alexander after three rounds in April.
 
“I’m very ready for this fight against Travon Marshall,” said Maestre. “We are focused on the work that we need to put in so that we are victorious on August 12. I’m focused on having my hand raised and putting on a good show. We want to leave a good impression with the fans and move on to fight the big names in the welterweight division.”

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MORE ON GABRIEL MAESTRE:

Maestre benefited from a seemingly rigged decision after being outboxed by Mychal Fox in 2021.

 
Here is Boxingtalk's coverage of Maestre's fight in August 2021:
 
Gabriel Maestre W12 Mychal Fox... A shocking example of boxing corruption, even by the WBA's sewer-worthy standards, took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday as part of the PBC on Fox broadcast. In a fight for the WBA interim welterweight title, the WBA appointed the wife of one of its executives to judge the fight, and it appears that Gloria Martinez-Rizzo did everything in her power to make sure Gabriel Maestre was awarded the title belt. Rizzo, along with two other judges, turned what easily should have been a career-changing win for American Mychal Fox into a contemptible unanimous decision verdict for Maestre. Like WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr., Maestre is from Venezuela. Rizzo, is married to Ricardo Rizzo, a boyhood friend of Mendoza's who often does business with the WBA. Adding to the outrage, racist tweets from Martinez-Rizzo are beginning to surface. For example, Martinez-Rizzo referred to former first lady Michelle Obama as a "monkey face" in August 2020. Obama, like Fox, is African American. Martinez-Rizzo also once tweeted that Lebron James should "go back to the stable."
 
After twelve rounds in which Fox knocked down Maestre and won a clear majority of the rounds, all three judges scored the fight in favor of Maestre by scores of 114-113, 115-112 and 117-110. The 117-110 scorecard (ten rounds to two for Maestre) belonged to Martinez-Rizzo. The question for the WBA and its leadership is: what are you going to do about this? 
 
The 114-113 card was turned in by David Singh, who was brought in from Panama by the WBA to judge this fight. The WBA, although its roots are in Venezuela, moved to Panama to escape Venezuela as it descended into political chaos. Singh has never before judged a fight in the contintenal United States, so what was the need to bring him in for this fight?
 
The third judge, John Mariano, who authored the 115-112 card, is from Minnesota.
 
Social media commentary was strong, even by Twitter standards.
 
Fox was in disbelief at the judges’ scores. "I was stunned by the decision,” said Fox. “There's no way he won more rounds than me. I knocked him down. I hurt him. I don't know what else I was supposed to do. I don't know what the judges were looking at. Look at his face and tell me he won that fight."
 
While Fox accepted his fate with class and dignity, other boxing insdiers were outraged. Promoter Lou DiBella tweeted: "There should be a federal investigation of boxing and the WBA that begins on Monday. That was a twelve-point win for Fox !!!!! And EVERYONE in boxing in the know saw this coming. Boxing is corrupt and disgusting with a rigged system of ratings and governance. Enough is enough!"
 
OFFICIAL PBC REPORT ON THE FIGHT (pretending there was no major controversey): In the co-main event two-time Venezuelan Olympian Gabriel Maestre (4-0, 3 KOs) won a close unanimous decision over Mykal Fox (22-3, 5 KOs) to capture the Interim WBA Welterweight Title.
 
Maestre was able to recover from an early knockdown in round two that Fox scored with a blistering counter left hand that Maestre never saw coming.
 
"When I was knocked down, I didn't see the punch coming,” said Maestre. “He didn't really hurt me though so it was no problem to get up and keep going.”
 
The unbeaten Maestre was able to work his way back into the fight through the middle rounds with consistent activity as he chased the elusive Fox around the ring. The aggression led to a 119 to 108 advantage for Maestre in power punches landed, despite Fox holding an overall edge in punches landed with 157 to 131.
 
"The strategy was just to keep fighting him for 12 rounds,” said Maestre. “I just wanted to stay close to him and make sure I kept throwing punches. Fox definitely surprised me. He was a very good boxer. I think the key was that I was throwing multiple punches and combinations. That was the strategy from start to finish.”
 
Fox appeared to turn the tide in the later rounds, pot-shotting Maestre effectively as he continued to circle the ring while holding smartly to slow any offensive momentum his opponent gained.
 
After 12 rounds the judges all saw the fight in favor of Maestre by scores of 114-113, 115-112 and 117-110. Fox was in disbelief at the judges’ scores post-fight, while Maestre declared he was willing to give Fox a rematch. "I was stunned by the decision,” said Fox. “There's no way he won more rounds than me. I knocked him down. I hurt him. I don't know what else I was supposed to do. I don't know what the judges were looking at. Look at his face and tell me he won that fight."
 
"Fox fought very well and he deserves a rematch,” said Maestre. “It was a very close fight. If my team says that's what they want, I'll be ready to fight him again."

NOTE: FOX NEVER GOT HIS REMATCH
 

 

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