Oliver stunned by Lopez By Stephen Tobey (May 8, 2008) Photo © German Villasenor Send this page to friend Give us your feedback BOSTON – It’s always the one you don’t see coming. Mike Oliver was trying to stay busy and make a case for getting a shot at International Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Steve Molitor. He was busy for three rounds, but now as far as the title shot is concerned, he’ll have to get back in line. Colombian-born Reynaldo Lopez handed Oliver his first loss, stopping the southpaw from Hartford, Conn. in the third round of a scheduled 10-round bout at The Roxy on Wednesday. Lopez, who is also a southpaw, dropped Oliver with a straight left in the third round. Oliver went to the canvas face-first. He beat referee Richard Flaherty’s 10-count, but stumbled when he got to his feet, causing Flaherty to stop the fight at 1:22. The 34-year-old Lopez got Oliver’s attention in the second round with two right hooks that prompted Oliver to hold. Oliver finished the round with a quick flurry. “Every time he punched he left himself open,” said Lopez, who lives in Sante Fe Springs, Calif. “He wasn’t moving his legs. I thought he was a better fighter, but when he jabbed he left himself open and he didn’t have much power. I felt I could really take it to him.” Lopez is now 28-6-2 with 20 knockouts. The 28-year-old Oliver dropped to 21-1 with seven KO s. Oliver was the IBF’s No. 2 contender. “He was cagey,” said Oliver’s trainer, John Scully. “After the first round, we knew he’d try to sneak the left and that’s what happened. He’d throw slow punches, then land a quick one. “For the last seven or eight fights, Mike has fought a high level of fighter and he fought another one tonight. This could be a blessing in disguise. Now that people see he can be beat, maybe more people will be willing to fight him.” Welterweight Antwone Smith of Miami stopped Aaron Torres in the third round of a scheduled eight. Smith (10-1-1, 6 KO s) dropped Torres twice. In the second round, he caught him with a jab-left hook combination, causing Torres to bleed from the nose. In the third, Smith dropped Torres to a knee with a left hook, followed by a straight right. Referee Javier Colon reached the 10-count at 2:35 with Torres still on one knee. “I dropped him with a good shot in the second round and he got up,” Smith said. “I was trying to pace myself for the eight rounds. At the weigh-in, he was saying he was going to knock me out, so I knew he’d come out hard.” Torres, of Philadelphia, who was a participant in the second season of The Contender, dropped to 16-7 (6 KOs). “I just got caught with a good right hand and I didn’t recover,” Torres said. “That happens in boxing. I’ll go back and talk with my family and go from there. I’m going to go back down to 140. [Fighting at] 147 these guys might be too strong for me, but I feel I can make 140 and be strong there.” Sean Eklund of Lowell, Mass. won a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Velazquez of Worcester, Mass. at junior welterweight. The scores were 40-36 (twice) and 39-37. Eklund is now 6-2 (1 KO); Velazquez is 0-3. Middleweight Eric Caminero of Lawrence, Mass. stopped debuting Ardrick Butler of Philadelphia in the third round of a scheduled four. Caminero (4-0, 4 K Os) dropped Butler three times in the third round before Colon stopped the fight at 1:57. Debuting Frankie Trader of Philadelphia won a four-round unanimous decision over Luis Rosario of Springfield, Mass. at junior lightweight. Rosario dropped to 4-13 with two KOs. It was 40-36 on all three cards. For Questions or Comments E-mail Stephen Tobey Today's Boxing Press Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums