Bayamon, Puerto Rico – It was a collision between an irresistible force and an immovable object but revered trainer Freddie Roach stopped the show before everyone else was able to find out who finally gave in.
Puerto Rican WBO superbantam champion Juan Manuel “JuanMa” Lopez pounded two-time world champion Cebuano Gerry Peñalosa of the Philippines with bombs that broke all power punching records in the super bantamweight division all night at the full house Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez.

Peñalosa and Roach planned to stretch the fight in a distance then find an opening in the later rounds to finish off Lopez.

The Puerto Rican champion is not known for engaging in longer fights in his past victories. He only once reached the 10th round in his 24 bouts.
Lopez threw punches at Peñalosa without letup right from the opening bell and up until the 5th round.

Peñalosa survived those harrowing five rounds, effectively rolling with the punches that got in and deftly blocking and ducking the rest.

Beginning in the sixth and up until the end of the ninth, Lopez refused to cooperate with the script and completely threw Roach and Peñalosa’s plan out of the window as Lopez kept on his attack.

Lopez appeared to be tired only once, in the seventh round, but quickly recovered to continue the onslaught in the eigth and ninth.
Peñalosa, however, although outclassed and clearly losing the fight on points at the end of the ninth canto, appeared ready to go the full route.

Roach, however, told Peñalosa not to answer the bell for the 10th round.

Lopez told the media during last Wednesday's press conference that “if it takes 12 rounds for me to win the fight against Penalosa, I will go 12 rounds.”

“The best in the division”

“We expected him to tire in the later rounds but he didn't,” Roach told the media in the post-fight press conference.
Roach praised Lopez and pointed out that “he's a complete fighter and he is the best in the division.”

As a precaution, Penalosa was brought to the San Pablo Hospital in Bayamon where his facial bones, neck and chest were x-rayed. He was also put into CT-Scan and had a physical checkup. He was completely cleared by the doctors.

Heart attack

In the same hospital, a lady in wheelchair accompanied by her husband introduced herself to us and said that she was earlier rushed to the hospital because she suffered a mild heart attack after watching the Lopez-Penalosa fight in the arena.