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SportsTranscript
00:00 [INAUDIBLE]
00:10 Marcus Escudero, Chris, is trained by a guy
00:13 that you have a ton of respect for as well.
00:15 Yeah, Nafek Horobaf, who's a two-time amateur world
00:19 champion, fought for the world title as a pro several times,
00:22 and never able to get that title.
00:23 But very, very well-schooled, excellent boxer.
00:27 Good man to have in your corner.
00:30 Here we go.
00:32 It's time to fight.
00:34 White trunks for Naji Lopez, black trunks
00:38 for Marcus Escudero.
00:40 This one's scheduled for 10 rounds in the light heavyweight
00:43 division.
00:44 Escudero training in South Florida
00:51 by way of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
00:54 [INAUDIBLE]
00:56 [INAUDIBLE]
00:59 Yeah, Marco, yeah!
01:02 Escudero needs to be careful, consistently
01:04 moving to his left side into the power hand of Naji Lopez.
01:08 Good head movement there by Escudero.
01:10 Though I think he's trying to keep
01:12 Naji Lopez uncomfortable backing up.
01:14 Lopez trying to establish that jab early, as you can see.
01:17 I think if Escudero can keep that head movement working
01:20 on the inside and not get hit with shots on his way in,
01:23 he could make it more physical than Lopez maybe wants it.
01:26 As you can see, Lopez looking to dictate with that lead hand.
01:28 Good little check hook there from Naji Lopez.
01:31 Yeah, Naji's doing a good job with that lead hand,
01:34 using the jabs and the hooks, hooks off the jabs.
01:36 Trying to establish the range.
01:38 He has a 7-inch reach advantage, as you can see.
01:40 Very tall, very long for the weight class is Naji Lopez.
01:44 And this is the weight class that he
01:47 will look to excel in, 175.
01:49 There was talk at one point about moving to 168.
01:54 It just wasn't the right place for Naji,
01:57 but he settled in at 175.
02:00 This one, the first one, scheduled for 10,
02:02 but we haven't seen him go very deep in too many fights
02:05 in his young professional career.
02:07 Stopped all but one of his opponents.
02:10 - Naji flashing an educated left hand here.
02:19 Setting things up, using feints, keeping range.
02:23 There's Escudero with a nice right hand down low.
02:27 Escudero's a puncher.
02:28 He's got 12 KO's and 14 wins.
02:29 I've been in the gym with him.
02:31 He's a tough customer, rough guy.
02:34 - He's trying to put that pressure on Naji.
02:36 He's not putting a lot of hands on him so far,
02:38 but he's trying to put that mental pressure on
02:41 Kevin Lopez.
02:41 He'd be better off cutting the ring off on Lopez
02:45 if he's gonna try to come forward like this,
02:47 because if you give Lopez that out,
02:49 he's gonna wind up setting you up,
02:50 and he has a couple times with some
02:52 little short counters so far.
02:53 - Lopez being very economical.
02:55 Has not thrown a single right hand yet.
02:57 - You know, we've seen him do this in the past.
02:59 - Yeah, sets things up.
03:01 - Sets his range, sets the tempo,
03:03 and then all of a sudden, when he feels comfortable,
03:05 he starts to open up.
03:06 - Big left hand upstairs from Escudero.
03:07 - Yeah, Escudero tries to sell that well.
03:09 He used that lead hand, then he has that little sell
03:11 where he drops it down and then he brings it up to the head.
03:14 - Yeah, nice change of levels there
03:15 to try and land on the taller man.
03:17 Smart move.
03:18 Good way to work your way inside.
03:19 - Final seconds of round number one
03:23 of our co-main event of the evening.
03:24 (bell ringing)
03:30 (crowd cheering)
03:33 - Don't get too cocky.
03:42 Jack's working, right?
03:45 So Jack should be working,
03:46 let him get his own, right?
03:48 That hand should stay there, right?
03:49 When you're running, you try to shoot that uppercut.
03:53 Everybody said you gotta stay close, all right?
03:55 So get your Jack popping.
03:57 Don't be stagnant with your legs.
03:58 You should read 'em.
03:59 Your Jack looks good.
04:00 - We've said it since day one,
04:04 he has a chance to be a very special fighter
04:08 and a great relationship with that man, Mark Ferre.
04:10 (crowd cheering)
04:13 - The corner of Escudero.
04:18 - Second zone.
04:20 - Former member of Argentina's national team,
04:22 competed at the 2016 Olympic qualifiers.
04:27 He said, "Najee Lopez tonight
04:31 "is going to fight a real fighter.
04:33 "I'm in the best shape of my life."
04:36 Lopez in the white trunks,
04:38 Escudero in the black trunks.
04:41 - Najee coming out more authoritative this round.
04:46 Already threw a big right hand up top
04:48 but Escudero slid off nicely.
04:50 Escudero back with his overhand right.
04:52 - Najee utilized wicked uppercuts
04:57 when he got on the inside and finished Kymel Wheeler
05:00 in October of last year.
05:02 And then in December, it was a one-one-two.
05:05 Beautiful third round finish for Lopez.
05:09 Escudero said he's gonna be in for a much tougher battle
05:13 than he has seen in his first
05:15 nine professional fights tonight.
05:17 Najee looks good, he looks relaxed.
05:19 - Yeah, that's one thing about Najee Lopez,
05:23 these last couple of fights.
05:23 You see the maturity really developing
05:26 as he's finding his style in the pros and at this new weight.
05:29 - Yeah, you see Lopez trying to, again,
05:30 establish that left hand.
05:32 You can start to see Escudero
05:34 is gonna be one of those guys
05:35 who's not gonna be easy to get rid of.
05:37 You wanna try to at least keep your foot on the gas
05:40 as far as keeping the tempo in a place
05:42 where you're controlling the ring
05:43 and you're controlling the way this fight is fought
05:45 so you can at least bank those 10, nine rounds.
05:47 'Cause Escudero's still trying,
05:48 Escudero's body language is to try to create himself.
05:50 Good little body shots on the inside by Najee Lopez.
05:53 - And he has finished 12 of his 14 victories.
05:59 Of course, Najee's finished eight of nine.
06:02 - Yeah, and Escudero's one of those guys.
06:04 He's very, very scrappy,
06:05 which you see a lot of South American,
06:07 especially Argentinian fighters have that style
06:09 where it's a little awkward, little off,
06:11 but very, very scrappy, very, very tough, very rough.
06:13 - Not easy to hit clean, honestly.
06:14 He's got good head movement on the inside.
06:16 He's got good little counters there on the inside.
06:18 He's getting going a little bit too here.
06:19 My one criticism for him right now would be
06:21 he doesn't cut off the ring,
06:22 so he's allowing Lopez to be able to turn that corner
06:25 with a left hand, with the left foot.
06:26 Good little shots on the inside
06:27 by Escudero blocking the gloves by Lopez.
06:31 - Main event coming up next,
06:33 Justin Pauldo and Miguel Madueno.
06:36 10 rounder in the lightweight division.
06:39 Mike Goldberg, the magic man,
06:40 the former two-time world champion,
06:41 Pauly Molinaggi, former world champion, Chris Algieri.
06:45 - You saw a few seconds ago,
06:46 you saw a few seconds ago the attack by Lopez
06:48 and Escudero rolled with it well.
06:50 That's one of the things that Escudero does well.
06:52 He'll keep his position when you throw at him.
06:54 You see right there, again, kept his position.
06:56 And so he remains dangerous even when you throw at him.
06:59 He doesn't get himself out of position trying to defend.
07:01 - He's one of those guys where you think
07:03 you're gonna hit him clean and you just miss.
07:06 Those are dangerous guys
07:06 'cause once they start countering you,
07:08 you don't see it coming.
07:09 - Yeah, and you just miss it
07:10 because he's keeping that position.
07:11 So in your mind now, you realize he can punch you back.
07:14 So you start to get, you gotta think a little bit more here.
07:17 - He can cause a puncher to be hesitant as well.
07:19 - 'Cause a lot of times speed like Najee Lopez has,
07:21 put guys out of position defensively
07:22 and then you can hit them with the follow-up.
07:24 The experience of Escudero
07:26 makes him understand positioning
07:27 and it keeps the pressure on Lopez.
07:29 (crowd cheering)
07:32 (crowd applauding)
07:35 (crowd cheering)
07:38 (crowd applauding)
07:41 (crowd cheering)
07:44 - Set for the start of round number three.
08:08 (crowd cheering)
08:11 (whistle blowing)
08:20 - Najee Lopez, his last fight was December 13th
08:31 of last year.
08:33 First fight of 2024 for both men, Lopez in the white,
08:37 14 and two Marcus Escudero from Argentina
08:42 in the black trunks.
08:43 Aggressive fighter with lots of power.
08:46 And so is his opponent, the Puerto Rican, Najee Lopez.
08:51 - Nice chopping right hand over the top from Escudero
08:58 comes in behind the hook.
08:59 See again, Escudero for the inside too.
09:02 - See again, Escudero head movement,
09:04 it stays in position, it can beat that pressure.
09:06 - Good combination by Escudero.
09:08 - Great technique, unable to close the distance
09:13 on a guy with a long reach.
09:14 Move that head, change levels, push forward,
09:17 put on aggression, make him miss just slightly
09:19 and keep edging forward.
09:20 Escudero doing a great job of getting within the range
09:23 of the much longer Najee Lopez.
09:25 Neither man has been able to land consistently
09:30 or cleanly yet.
09:31 - Yeah, it's a very tactical match.
09:34 But it hasn't been fought at really long range.
09:36 Both guys have kind of been in front of each other,
09:38 fighting a very tactical match, but they've been busy.
09:41 - Good change up there from Najee,
09:42 put the right hand down low.
09:43 - Yeah, I think that's smart, trying to change up
09:45 the levels a little bit.
09:46 Maybe throw the defense of Escudero off.
09:49 'Cause Escudero, he's not always moving his head.
09:52 He's moving his head when he's trying to come inside.
09:53 From the outside, he kind of keeps that guard up.
09:56 You see, it's almost like Escudero only moves his head
09:58 and changes levels when he's looking to attack.
10:00 When he defends, he actually doesn't move his head a lot.
10:02 So if you can try to be first and keep him
10:04 with that high guard,
10:05 you can set up some more body shots.
10:07 - And you can see by the style of fight that Najee
10:13 is putting forth that there's a lot of respect
10:15 for his opponent tonight.
10:17 He knows the power of Escudero, Magic Man.
10:19 - Absolutely, Goldy.
10:20 And you know what, that's also part of what
10:21 Najee's boxing intelligence tells him.
10:23 He sees Escudero remains in punch position
10:26 even when Najee's throwing punches.
10:28 He's not slipping punches, putting himself out of position.
10:30 So when Najee misses, he realizes
10:32 that Escudero's in punching position.
10:34 So he's like, okay, I can't over-commit here.
10:35 I have to walk into a counter.
10:36 So that's also Najee's boxing intelligence
10:38 showing him that and telling him that.
10:40 So he realizes, okay, I've got to keep working
10:41 this lead hand and trying to break this guy's position
10:44 out before I can put the third, fourth,
10:46 and fifth gear shots on there.
10:48 See right there, those are probing.
10:50 He's trying to shoot jabs.
10:51 He's trying to see if he can break the position.
10:53 Oh, Escudero.
10:54 (crowd cheering)
10:56 - Good right hand from Escudero on the inside.
10:58 Shortened it up and a left hook upstairs.
11:00 (crowd cheering)
11:04 (crowd cheering)
11:06 Escudero's very tricky and scrappy
11:08 with that head movement on the inside.
11:10 - Got ourselves a fight, guys.
11:12 Final seconds of round number three.
11:14 Lot of international amateur experience for Escudero.
11:21 - Now if you notice, Escudero has been hanging out
11:24 in his jab range.
11:25 He's gotten within the range of Najee Lopez
11:27 with that plus seven inch reach advantage.
11:29 (bell ringing)
11:33 (crowd cheering)
11:35 - Wednesday night fights.
11:45 We come to you again in two weeks, March 13th,
11:48 right here on Pro Box TV.
11:50 The Serbian hot rod returns.
11:53 Radovoj Kalajic, 28 and two with 20 knockouts.
11:57 Made his Pro Box TV debut last September
12:00 with an eighth round TKO of Mickey Ellison.
12:03 His opponent, fighting out of Miami,
12:05 former WBA light heavyweight world title challenger,
12:09 22 and four, Sullivan Barrera, plus Marcus Faiye.
12:14 That's on Wednesday, March 13th.
12:16 Faiye's teammate, Najee Lopez.
12:19 (whistle blowing)
12:22 (crowd cheering)
12:29 - No, fuck.
12:30 - Our co-main event continues.
12:34 Escudero comes out quickly.
12:36 He's in the black trunks, white trunks for Najee Lopez.
12:41 Six years younger, seven inch reach advantage.
12:45 But Chris and Paulie, both of you guys have commented
12:49 on how Escudero's been able to get inside
12:52 of that seven inches, if you will,
12:54 and take away the reach of Najee Lopez.
12:57 - Yeah, that's why he's being more offensive now.
12:59 He's gotten himself within the range.
13:01 He spent two rounds working his way in very smartly.
13:03 Now he's there.
13:04 He's getting comfortable in that range.
13:06 He's letting those hands go.
13:07 - Najee's starting to loosen up a little bit.
13:11 - Yeah, with that head movement from a guy like Escudero,
13:15 you gotta throw some throwaway punches.
13:16 Najee needs to set shots up and not just load up.
13:20 - Good counter there by Escudero.
13:21 Najee getting a little impatient,
13:22 reached in with that overhand right.
13:24 And Escudero again, being in punch position
13:26 and good counters there by Lopez.
13:27 'Cause Lopez also stays in good punch position.
13:30 That's why this has been a good tactical battle,
13:32 even at full and close range.
13:33 - Yeah, very nip-tuck between these two.
13:35 Very scrappy work on the inside.
13:37 These guys hanging out in middle distance range,
13:39 both within range to hit each other.
13:40 - Neither guy commits the defense,
13:45 over commits the defense, sorry.
13:46 They're solid defensively.
13:47 They don't over commit the defense,
13:48 but they're trying to get the other guy
13:50 to start over committing defense
13:51 so they can follow up with some better shots.
13:53 And neither guy's had a lot of success with that,
13:55 with the exception of the occasional
13:56 single shot here and there.
13:58 - Najee trying to dig to the body,
14:00 midway point of round four.
14:02 - Yeah, neither man has had a focused
14:07 or concerted effort to the body.
14:09 More head hunting between the two of them.
14:13 - Escudero has competed as an amateur all around the world.
14:19 Said he fought Russians, Mexicans, Cubans,
14:22 won a world championship, fought Mexico, Qatar,
14:26 Pro Box TV against the Puerto Rican, Najee Lopez.
14:30 - Oh, big right hand.
14:34 - One, one, two.
14:35 - Escudero went straight back there.
14:38 And Najee was able to get that right hand
14:40 at least partially in there.
14:41 - And to speak about the fact that Najee Lopez
14:46 is stepping up each and every time out,
14:47 that one, one, two put away his last opponent.
14:50 - Absolutely.
14:51 - That's what Escudero let him land it to,
14:52 mainly, Chambe.
14:53 He was moving away from it as it landed.
14:55 - 30 seconds, round four.
15:01 - Yeah, that's been the most impressive aspect
15:03 of Escudero tonight, has been his ability
15:04 to evade the power of Najee Lopez.
15:08 - And Paul, you put it perfectly,
15:14 when Najee got a little bit impatient,
15:16 he got countered after missing with that overhand right.
15:19 - Yeah, and both guys really are very cognizant
15:23 of their positioning when they defend.
15:24 So both guys are keeping the other guy honest,
15:27 not over committing it.
15:27 Oh, there is a mistake.
15:28 Good right hand there by Escudero.
15:30 Another one.
15:31 Enthusiastic finish to the round.
15:38 (crowd cheering)
15:41 See that?
15:56 - Counter right hand there by Lopez.
15:57 He looped it instead of throwing it straight.
15:59 Escudero slips and he's in position to counter right away.
16:02 - And Escudero landed three good shots there.
16:04 And you kept mentioning how Najee Lopez
16:06 sometimes got a little too excited,
16:08 throw that overthrow, that punch,
16:10 and Escudero made him pay for it.
16:11 - Yeah, and he's at the bell, a little roll from Lopez.
16:15 He saw the replay before where Lopez
16:16 was throwing that double jab right hand.
16:17 You see it caught Escudero,
16:20 but he was going away from the shot,
16:21 so it didn't land cleanly.
16:22 Hence why the last fight it ended the fight in this one,
16:25 Escudero didn't really blink from it
16:26 because he was already riding with the shot,
16:28 though it did land.
16:29 - And that speaks to the skill level
16:32 and the experience of Escudero.
16:34 (crowd cheering)
16:37 - Escudero in the black trunks,
16:38 Lopez in the white trunks.
16:41 - Oh, big three-two combination,
16:44 hook upstairs right hand from Najee Lopez.
16:46 - Yeah, and that's a different change of pace there,
16:49 threw Escudero off a little bit.
16:50 - Oh, nice uppercut by Lopez,
16:55 opening up here to start round five.
16:57 - And Lopez came out with a mission
17:00 to take better control of this fight.
17:02 - For sure.
17:04 Let's see if Escudero allows him to
17:05 or if Escudero makes it tough on him.
17:06 So far he's landed, started the round
17:08 with a couple of good shots, he's landed.
17:09 - I'm sure Mark Torre gave him a tongue lashing
17:11 in between rounds.
17:11 He's coming out.
17:12 - I was just gonna say.
17:13 - Oh!
17:14 - But that's the thing, Escudero in there as well,
17:17 positioning, slipping, sliding, and countering himself.
17:20 - Escudero looking for the body, looking for the uppercut.
17:24 - And now we have a shootout.
17:26 - Got ourselves a fight.
17:32 - This is exactly what Marcus Escudero
17:34 told us in the fighter meetings,
17:36 that he is on a different level than the previous opponents
17:40 that have fought against that man, Naji Lopez.
17:43 - And that guy that's up in the top, I agreed with him.
17:45 He is a different level.
17:46 - Naji came out firing, Escudero has certainly answered.
17:54 - Good defense there by Escudero on the inside,
18:00 not gonna hit him.
18:00 - Good shot there by Lopez, he makes him pay.
18:03 Escudero came up on the inside.
18:05 Again, the importance of positioning.
18:07 You can't sleep even for a second,
18:09 or a guy like Lopez will make you pay for it.
18:11 Little clash of heads, let's see what happens here.
18:13 - No cut.
18:19 I don't know if that was an elbow,
18:21 it's a weird place to be on top of the head.
18:23 - Yeah, it might have been, it might have been.
18:30 - About halfway through this fight,
18:31 and these guys are starting to scrap back and forth,
18:34 landing some big bombs, big shot there.
18:36 - Oh, Escudero again, right in the pocket.
18:38 You know what's crazy to me?
18:40 I feel like Lopez has the better speed,
18:42 but Escudero has the shorter punches on the inside.
18:44 - Yes, yes, I was gonna say.
18:45 - And that's really making a difference.
18:46 It's like Teddy Atlas says, "Timing beats speed."
18:48 Well, I've been in there a lot of times,
18:50 but these guys are shooting at the same time.
18:51 Escudero's getting in there better
18:52 because he's throwing the shorter shots.
18:54 - Oh.
18:55 - Good round for Marcus Escudero.
19:00 - Yeah, there's always so much emphasis
19:01 on the reach of a fighter,
19:03 but on the inside, the reach is actually a hindrance.
19:06 Shorter arms, shorter punches.
19:07 - And Escudero has neutralized or nullified
19:13 that seven-inch reach advantage
19:15 pretty much throughout the first half of this fight.
19:18 - And remember, Lopez came out this round
19:19 trying to make a statement with those seven shots.
19:22 But now it's ever since, it's been all Escudero.
19:24 This probably had the best round
19:25 of the fight for him so far.
19:27 - Oh, absolutely.
19:28 And Najee Lopez just landed a great right hand now.
19:30 Right hand to the body as well.
19:32 - Oh, what a back and forth battle.
19:34 - What a round.
19:35 (crowd cheering)
19:37 (crowd applauding)
19:40 (crowd cheering)
20:09 - Najee comes out aggressive and Escudero said, "Let's go."
20:13 - Yep.
20:14 - And with the counter to the counter to the counter,
20:17 really was looking at the counter to counter to counter.
20:19 And you see Escudero's punch selection
20:21 and the shorter punches on the inside,
20:23 also hand positioning, really made the difference in them.
20:26 - Our co-main event continues round number six.
20:36 Najee Lopez in the white trunks,
20:38 Marcus Escudero in the black trunks, worthy of mention.
20:43 The last two fights for Najee Lopez
20:46 have been scheduled for eight rounds.
20:48 He finished one in the fourth, the other in the third.
20:52 The longest he has gone in a fight in his professional
20:55 career is a full six rounds back in February of last year,
21:00 here on Pro Box TV.
21:03 - That's where it gets tough, man.
21:04 Now you're in the longest fight of your career.
21:05 - Yep.
21:06 - But it's also the most physically grueling
21:08 of your career at the same time.
21:10 - Also with the most experienced opponent of your career.
21:14 A lot of step ups here for Najee Lopez.
21:17 Going into some deep waters.
21:18 I see what you did there, Goldie.
21:21 - Thank you, Chris.
21:22 - That was good, very clever.
21:23 - Escudero said his shot is the left hook to the body.
21:32 He's had a lot of different shots
21:34 and he's shown a lot of confidence.
21:36 Confidence is growing here for Escudero.
21:39 - No question.
21:40 - Marc Ferre in the corner calling for the uppercut.
21:44 - Nice right hand onto the chin of Escudero from Lopez.
21:48 - Gotta be careful with an uppercut here
21:52 'cause Escudero's throwing some nice
21:54 short chopping right hands.
21:55 - Body language a little bit,
21:59 no, Lopez a little bit sat lagging.
22:01 Right hand there.
22:02 Getting the battle for position.
22:04 Lopez with a nice counter.
22:05 - And again, he doesn't pass his position either
22:07 on the attack from Escudero.
22:09 - And Lopez shortens those shots up.
22:12 He has success.
22:13 When he loads up on the right hand,
22:17 he usually sails over the shoulder of Escudero
22:19 'cause he does a great job
22:20 of getting his head offline consistently.
22:22 - Escudero lives this sport that he loves so much 24/7.
22:27 Runs his own gym, he's a boxing coach.
22:31 Said he loves to share his knowledge
22:34 and work with younger boxers,
22:37 not just on their boxing skills,
22:38 but also enjoys the conditioning aspect of it.
22:42 - Conditioning's gonna play a big part in this fight.
22:45 We're halfway through, a lot of fight left.
22:48 - And Escudero's confident there.
22:50 - Oh!
22:51 - He's pressuring Lopez now with his hands down,
22:55 daring Lopez to throw something.
22:57 - Oh, good right hand on the inside there from Lopez.
22:59 Splits the guard.
23:00 - I think Lopez prefers Escudero with his hands up.
23:03 - If he can hit him, easier.
23:04 - Marcus Escudero has only lost to one man
23:09 in his professional career, and that was Joseph George.
23:13 - Double right, double left hook from Escudero
23:15 a few seconds ago.
23:17 Really, really nice.
23:18 - Escudero's confidence is through the roof right now.
23:21 - And you can see the effects
23:23 on the right eye of Najee Lopez.
23:25 And again, these left hooks keep landing.
23:29 Nice little check hook from Escudero.
23:31 (bell ringing)
23:34 (crowd cheering)
23:36 - And we see that slick head movement on the inside.
23:47 Escudero changing levels, getting underneath the shots,
23:50 but then also leaving something for Lopez
23:52 once he makes a miss.
23:53 There's another right hand right down the middle.
23:56 Doing a great job of making the punches just miss,
23:58 like we've been mentioning since the beginning,
24:00 but now is adding offense to it
24:02 and being able to counter Najee Lopez.
24:04 - First time Najee Lopez will see a round seven
24:12 as a professional.
24:14 Back-to-back fights against Joseph George in 2019.
24:21 A controversial split decision loss for Escudero.
24:26 They had a rematch about nine months later,
24:28 and Joseph George finished Escudero in round number nine.
24:33 - That fight was very close though,
24:36 before the stoppage, very, very close.
24:37 - And that's exactly what we expected
24:40 because the first one was like that, Chris.
24:42 Seventh round, Najee Lopez in the white trunks,
24:46 Marcus Escudero in the black trunks,
24:48 Michael "Pauli" Molinaggi, Chris Algieri,
24:51 Wednesday night fights.
24:53 ProBox TV brought to you by SportsBetting.ag.
24:58 (speaking in foreign language)
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25:08 Canelo, Fox Deportes, and Roger Sportsnet in Canada.
25:13 - Najee needs to make an adjustment.
25:16 He's still throwing punches as if they're from mid-range,
25:19 but they're too close now.
25:20 He's gotta shorten the shots up.
25:22 - Yeah, and that's the thing,
25:23 you're going into territory, a fight where you haven't been,
25:25 and it's also in an uncomfortable fight.
25:27 And again, he's trying too hard to land a big shot there.
25:33 He keeps overshooting that right hand.
25:35 When it comes to guys like this,
25:36 you gotta take the simple stuff,
25:38 and that's the thing, he keeps overshooting shots
25:40 good up there from Escudero,
25:42 but when you're throwing shots like that,
25:44 if you're gonna throw them like that,
25:46 it's gonna end up costing you more than it is,
25:48 more than it's gonna reward you when you land
25:50 because Escudero's not going anywhere,
25:51 and if you miss those shots, he's making you pay for them.
25:54 You're probably better off taking some stuff off
25:56 and looking for the simpler shots.
25:58 - That's one of the mistakes Escudero makes
26:00 is when he pulls out, he pulls out straight back
26:02 with his head up in the air.
26:03 - Yeah, and Lovinagy did land a nice left hook there,
26:05 but again, Escudero's not going anywhere.
26:07 So the reward is not worth,
26:09 the juice is not worth the squeeze for me.
26:11 To me, Lopez should simplify the punches
26:13 because every once in a while you land
26:15 when Escudero's pulling back, it's not worth it
26:17 compared to when you're missing
26:18 and Escudero's making you pay.
26:20 - Yeah, one's not gonna be enough.
26:21 He's gotta shorten up, he's gotta work harder.
26:23 (crowd cheering)
26:25 - Round number seven.
26:27 Ooh, nice little, again, Escudero with that awkward rhythm
26:32 and left hook right hand.
26:33 Lopez comes in, but he overcommits
26:35 and he smothered himself there.
26:37 - Yeah, you mentioned awkward rhythm.
26:38 I always think about the Argentinian style.
26:42 So when we speak of Omar Vice, remember him back in the day?
26:44 Very awkward guy, but made it work.
26:46 - Paul "Damn Judah," I remember.
26:48 - Paul "Domadueno" still to come,
26:51 our main event of the evening.
26:54 - A little headbutt there too.
26:55 That's what I mean about the experienced guy.
26:56 Is he gonna get rough in there with you?
26:58 - There's that uppercut again.
27:00 - I said that, I've seen Escudero in the gyms
27:02 on the East Coast and he's a very rough guy.
27:04 We're starting to see that here
27:06 as we're getting late in the fight.
27:08 Cut under the eye, the right eye of Escudero.
27:10 And you mentioned, champ,
27:13 there was a little clash of heads earlier.
27:15 - Yeah.
27:16 - Clock counting down here in round seven.
27:21 - 10 seconds, gentlemen.
27:23 - Escudero did go the full 10 in that first fight
27:25 with Joseph George and then into the ninth in the rematch.
27:29 - Well, he did say he's in the best shape of his career.
27:33 (crowd cheering)
27:36 (crowd cheering)
27:39 (crowd cheering)
27:42 (crowd cheering)
27:44 (whistle blowing)
27:56 - As promised, Escudero's bringing it.
28:12 See that little short uppercut,
28:13 good hook there from Najee Lopez.
28:15 That was a good two-way exchange.
28:16 And here's the clash of heads as Escudero flies in there.
28:20 - And you know, I don't think that was the shot
28:22 that caused the cut.
28:22 That looked like Escudero got his head in a good position.
28:25 - That was a head right on the ear of Lopez.
28:28 - But that's another thing you learn being a savvy pro,
28:30 where to put your head on the inside.
28:31 Escudero did that properly.
28:33 - Round number eight.
28:36 Left hook connects early for Escudero.
28:41 White trunks for Najee Lopez.
28:43 He's nine and O.
28:44 30-year-old Marcus Escudero's 14 and two.
28:49 - You see there again, Lopez overcommitted
28:51 with the right hand and ran into the headbutt of Escudero
28:54 'cause he had it in tight.
28:57 - Yeah, he's gotta shorten the shots up,
28:58 not worry so much about hitting hard.
29:01 Let those hands go in combination.
29:02 - Yeah, and that's what Escudero's doing good.
29:03 I don't think Escudero's bloating up at all.
29:05 He's putting these little shots together
29:07 and there's better shots of landing them
29:08 because he throws them short
29:10 and he's not really overcommitting to the power.
29:12 And he also could fall into that trap
29:14 because he's got 12 KOs and 14 wins,
29:15 but he's savvy enough to know that,
29:17 "Hey man, this is a slick guy in front of me.
29:19 "Let me take what he gives me."
29:20 Good right hand there from Lopez though.
29:22 - And right again.
29:23 - That hurt him.
29:24 - And to the body as well.
29:25 - It's a chance for Lopez.
29:27 - He pushed him down.
29:28 He pushed him down.
29:29 That's gonna give him--
29:30 - Hey, hey.
29:31 - Escudero's gonna call that a hook down.
29:33 - He leaned on him a little bit.
29:36 - Good call by the ref.
29:37 - Yeah.
29:38 Aaron Wright did that with Amir Khan.
29:39 He hit him to the body and then he leaned on me.
29:41 I just went to the floor.
29:43 - Lopez trying to turn it up here in round eight.
29:45 - Good comeback round for Najee Lopez.
29:49 Let's see if he can keep the momentum.
29:50 We still got over half the round to go.
29:52 - Unchartered waters for Lopez.
29:55 - I thought Escudero was starting to really
29:58 put rounds together here last few rounds,
30:00 but Lopez starting out well.
30:01 Let's see if he can keep this momentum.
30:03 - That's the thing we know about Najee Lopez though.
30:05 He has the great equalizer.
30:07 He's never needed it to pull himself out of a gym.
30:09 - Here he is.
30:10 - But champ, it's a dig deep moment here, man.
30:11 You've never been in round eight
30:13 and this is a tough fight in round eight.
30:15 And it's gonna use that kind of fight
30:18 to answer questions.
30:19 - And Escudero.
30:21 - And there's those short shots from Escudero
30:22 that I was talking about.
30:23 Takes the power off and throws good hook
30:25 by Escudero on the inside.
30:27 - Escudero talked about his conditioning, Chris.
30:29 You confirmed it.
30:30 And he is still coming at a good pace.
30:33 - And you see Escudero can get up more numbers
30:36 because he's throwing the shorter punches
30:37 that take up less energy
30:38 because they're just shorter, less power shots.
30:41 Lopez trying to save up for big shots
30:43 and when he misses, he misses bigger.
30:45 - And notice the body language.
30:47 Escudero marches right back in.
30:49 He wants to get right back into the fray.
30:50 That shows you he's in shape.
30:52 Good right hand there.
30:55 Splits the guard.
30:56 - But you see Lopez takes it away from himself.
31:00 He falls right in.
31:00 He lands a nice one too.
31:01 And he falls right in.
31:02 Maybe he's tired, but that was a chance.
31:03 You got Escudero going backwards.
31:05 Good hook there from Escudero.
31:06 Here we go again.
31:08 - Got himself a firefight here in round eight.
31:11 - But about, this all started
31:14 because about 20 seconds ago,
31:15 Lopez had the advantage.
31:16 He puts a one-two on Escudero,
31:17 makes him go backwards,
31:18 and then falls in instead of putting the punches together
31:21 from the right distance as he's walking down Escudero.
31:25 - Good left hook upstairs to punctuate the round.
31:36 (crowd cheering)
31:38 Excellent back and forth round.
31:45 - Yeah, the beginning of the round, champ,
31:46 was I thought Lopez started it great.
31:48 Escudero came back a little bit.
31:49 Did he do enough?
31:50 It's a good right hand, good hook there
31:51 from Escudero on the inside.
31:52 And these are the shorter shots
31:53 I was talking about on the inside.
31:55 You see Lopez trying to load him up,
31:57 but Escudero trying to throw them a little shorter.
31:59 - Also the commitment by Escudero.
32:03 He's in the mix.
32:04 He wants to throw these shots.
32:05 - Yep.
32:06 - Nagy seems to be in between ranges at times.
32:09 - And it's almost like he's thinking,
32:10 okay, I'm gonna load up, I'm gonna load up,
32:11 I'm gonna load up, I'm gonna load up.
32:13 And Escudero's just like, I'm gonna throw,
32:14 I'm just gonna throw, I'm gonna throw.
32:16 And that close range, man, where anything can land,
32:22 you're better off just letting them go,
32:24 especially in a tight fight like this.
32:26 - Experience is the ultimate intangible.
32:29 - Ninth round, gentlemen.
32:34 Age, experience, a man who has been there before,
32:37 round number nine, right hand early landing
32:41 for Marcus Escudero.
32:43 Born in Argentina, fighting out of South Florida.
32:48 Nagy born and raised in Atlanta.
32:50 He has been down here at the Pro Box TV headquarters
32:54 for the last few years, been working with the Chosen One,
32:57 Edgar Belanga.
32:59 See the swelling under the right eye
33:01 of nine and old, 24 year old Nagy Lopez.
33:04 - All right, gentlemen, no punches.
33:07 - Oh, we expected a firefight in this fight,
33:13 it took about four or five rounds for it to open up,
33:16 but now it has.
33:17 - Escudero in the fighter interview,
33:22 he had no air of arrogance,
33:26 but he had a very clear commitment to his confidence, Chris.
33:31 - Yeah, he's been walking around campus, a confident man.
33:34 He knows he was in a tough fight.
33:36 He knows what Pro Box TV is all about.
33:38 Blood in the eye of Nagy Lopez on the inside.
33:46 - Oh, and it came.
33:48 - Escudero inside his nose, by the corner of his eye.
33:50 - That left hand finds a home for Escudero.
33:55 - Hey, if I'm gonna step around while holding him down,
33:58 it doesn't work, 'cause Escudero keeps doing that.
34:01 - Nagy goes to the body on the inside there,
34:02 I think that's smart here.
34:04 - All right, we'll break things up in the notebook.
34:05 - Just past the midway point of round number nine.
34:08 - There we go, nice shorter punches now from Nagy Lopez,
34:11 shortening things up.
34:12 - Yeah, and better off getting the numbers up on the inside.
34:15 - And we've been saying that for rounds.
34:18 - Low parallel swing.
34:18 - At the six round distance, one time.
34:22 - I don't know if Nagy made that mad as a concerted
34:25 decision or if he's just tired of taking off,
34:28 stuff off the shots 'cause he's tired.
34:31 Either way, I think it's smart.
34:32 Good shots here.
34:33 - And he's having success.
34:35 - Yeah, but now he's slipping and sliding,
34:36 'cause again, if you're not over committing to offense,
34:37 now you can think about your defense as well.
34:40 - Good counter.
34:41 - Big right hand there from Nagy Lopez.
34:43 - Woof, I tell you man, this is one of those fights
34:46 that you're gonna learn either way, man.
34:48 Look at the head of Escudero,
34:50 get right in the face of Lopez.
34:52 - Nagy, when he did go that full six,
34:56 it was coming off 334 days of inactivity
35:01 after the broken jaw, suffered in training.
35:04 Finished his two eight rounders early,
35:08 this is first 10 rounder,
35:10 and we're 20 seconds away from moving
35:13 to the 10th and final round.
35:16 - Both these guys are in great shape.
35:17 There's been a high work rate for the last five rounds.
35:21 Oh, hand there from Lopez, again, the hand positioning.
35:27 Escudero busy messing around,
35:29 Lopez short of right hand there.
35:31 Could come down the next round, guys.
35:44 - Hell of a round.
35:45 - Here we see that beautiful short chopping overhand right.
35:48 The punch that we've been asking for for five rounds now
35:50 from Nagy Lopez shortens up the shot,
35:53 has an effect on Escudero that we see him take a knee.
35:56 - And the best thing there about that was,
35:58 you see Lopez, he didn't smother himself after the shot.
36:00 Hook right hand right afterwards.
36:02 - He made very good adjustments that round.
36:04 (crowd cheering)
36:07 - Three minutes remain.
36:29 10th and final round.
36:33 - Could it come down to this round, I tell you.
36:35 - It's gonna be a big round.
36:37 Both these guys understand what's on the line here.
36:39 - Nagy Lopez, nine and oh, white trunks.
36:44 Marcus Escudero, 14 and two, black trunks.
36:48 Nice jab there from Escudero on the counter.
36:52 - Oh, good chopping right hand there from Nagy Lopez.
36:56 (crowd cheering)
36:59 - Escudero has put in a performance as promised.
37:12 Will it be enough to hand Lopez his first career loss?
37:16 - Oh, good hook to the head with that left.
37:21 - Good combination there from Escudero on the inside.
37:24 Finish with a nice left hook to the head.
37:26 (crowd cheering)
37:29 - Who's gonna be able to maintain the shorter punches
37:31 on the inside here in round 10?
37:34 - Yeah, it's becoming a fight of attrition here.
37:36 Lopez's right eye is almost closed.
37:37 - Yep.
37:38 - Yeah, he's gotta cut over it.
37:40 Bottom part of the eye is swollen.
37:42 - And Marcus told us it's the left hand that he thinks
37:46 is the most dangerous in his arsenal.
37:49 - He has a very tricky left hook, does Escudero.
37:54 Oh, good right hand from Nagy Lopez.
37:56 Nice chopping shot over the top.
37:58 - Yeah, Escudero tried to sell the right hand
38:00 and throw the left, but Nagy read it.
38:01 He wasn't buying what he was selling.
38:03 He said he threw the right hand over the top
38:04 of the Escudero jab.
38:05 - Lopez. - Here, Lopez staying long.
38:08 - Yep.
38:10 - Back to that jab. - Haven't seen a ton
38:11 of that, Chris. - No, no.
38:12 - But that is because Escudero's done such a great job
38:15 with closing. - Oh, good right hand
38:15 there from Escudero. - Huge right hand.
38:17 - Now following a left hook on the inside.
38:19 (crowd chanting)
38:22 What a fight, guys.
38:24 Can you believe we have another fight after this?
38:26 This is how good our cards are.
38:28 - The best in the business.
38:31 - You can be the judge in this fight, bro.
38:33 - Yeah, I'm not.
38:34 I've been enjoying the action. - Unjoin me.
38:37 (crowd chanting)
38:51 - Oh, good sweeping right hand from Naji Lopez.
38:55 Naji's having a good round here.
38:58 He found some range.
38:59 - But Escudero's also landing some shots over it.
39:04 A little push there. - A little push.
39:06 - That was a weird, that was a weird take down.
39:07 - A little push, a little fatigue.
39:09 - Good spin off there by Lopez.
39:14 Gets back to the center of the ring.
39:15 - Escudero. - Oh, good right hand there
39:17 from Lopez.
39:19 - And Lopez, final 15 seconds.
39:21 Co-Main Event, round number 10.
39:26 (crowd chanting)
39:28 They go the distance.
39:36 - Hell of a fight.
39:36 - Wow.
39:39 - Hell of a fight.
39:41 - Both guys are gonna think they won this too.
39:45 - Yeah.
39:46 (crowd cheering)
39:49 - I like the work of Lopez the last two rounds.
39:55 - But I tell you, Escudero also landed some good shots
39:59 in this last round as well.
40:00 That was a push off.
40:01 That's a knock down in a McGregor camp actually.
40:03 (laughing)
40:04 Very, very similar.
40:05 - Yeah, that was a weird little exchange that put,
40:10 put Escudero on his back for a moment.
40:16 - The commission requested a look at that replay
40:19 as the judges will render their decision.
40:24 Spectacular Co-Main Event from the start, Paulie.
40:33 - Yeah, recap of this crazy fight, man.
40:35 You see shots, good left hook there from Lopez in round one.
40:39 I brought round one and two were really nip and tuck.
40:41 The body work there from Lopez in there.
40:44 You saw, you saw the positioning of Escudero.
40:46 He kept putting that pressure on Lopez.
40:47 You see Lopez trying to touch the body,
40:49 but it really never slowed down Escudero
40:51 and he started putting those punches together.
40:53 Those shorter shots, not everything lands there.
40:55 Not everything lands there for Lopez
40:57 as these guys were defending well on the inside,
40:59 especially when they still had full energy.
41:00 But as they started fatiguing,
41:02 you started seeing shots landing cleaner there.
41:04 Shorter shots from Escudero in round five, champ.
41:06 - Yeah, really, really tactical fight to start out.
41:08 I think really the judging is gonna come down
41:10 to who got those early rounds.
41:12 'Cause as the fight wore on,
41:13 you could tell more and more who was gonna win
41:15 each round in the later rounds.
41:17 But in the beginning, there was so few punches were landed
41:20 'cause both of them were so technically savvy
41:22 and picking their spots and their defense was sharp.
41:24 But the second half of the fight,
41:26 they had no trouble finding each other.
41:27 And we had an excellent war for the last five rounds.
41:30 - Yeah, that was a good hook there
41:31 in the last round by Escudero.
41:32 Good right hand there by Lopez.
41:33 Good, a lot of back and forth there.
41:34 Good hooks in the right hand from Escudero,
41:37 also in the last round.
41:38 Some good work by both guys in the last round.
41:40 - High level back and forth fight.
41:42 Very, very competitive.
41:43 Both guys showing good power.
41:46 And the respect afterwards, well earned from both guys.
41:48 It was a tough one, man.
41:50 - Rematch.
41:53 - Judges have rendered their decision.
41:57 Is it Escudero or Lopez?
41:59 Here is Jim Sorensen.
42:01 (bell ringing)
42:03 - Ladies and gentlemen, one more time for these fighters.
42:06 (audience cheering)
42:12 - What a performance.
42:14 We go to the judges scorecards after 10 rounds.
42:18 Judge Brian Gary scores the fight 95 to 95.
42:23 Judge Jacob Rust Sr. scores the fight 97 to 93.
42:34 And Judge Alvaro Rodriguez scores the fight 99 to 91
42:41 for your majority decision winner.
42:44 And still undefeated legend.
42:48 (audience cheering)
42:49 - There's always gotta be one judge.
42:51 There's always gotta be one judge
42:55 who just gotta make like you didn't watch the fight.
42:58 Unfortunately.
42:59 - 99 to 91.
43:00 - Gotta have at least one.
43:02 - 99 to 91 is insane.