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05/02 19:16 CDT Times Square boxing event sees Teofimo Lopez defend his title,
with Haney and Garcia to follow
Times Square boxing event sees Teofimo Lopez defend his title, with Haney and
Garcia to follow
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Teofimo Lopez got the first big win in boxing's trip to Times
Square, defending his junior welterweight championship with a unanimous
decision over Arnold Barboza Jr. on Friday night.
Lopez was the first of what organizers called three events on the card, with
Devin Haney to follow against Jose Ramirez before Ryan Garcia took on Rolando
"Rolly" Romero.
Lopez had no problem in a setting unlike any the boxers had ever faced, winning
118-110 on one judge's card and 116-112 on the other two after controlling the
fight with his advantages in hand and foot speed.
The Brooklyn product who has fought in title bouts in Madison Square Garden put
on a strong performance in a venue unlike the famed arena 10 blocks to the
south.
He improved to 22-1, celebrating in front of his hometown fans with his arms
raised in the shadows of the pole from where the ball drops on New Year's Eve
in New York's tourist center.
Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment
Authority of Saudi Arabia, wanted something unique for Ring Magazine's first
boxing card in the U.S. after purchasing it last year.
Thus began the plan to fight in Times Square, bypassing Madison Square Garden
and Barclays Center for the trip to New York.
Fighters were delivered from the hotel a couple of blocks away by taxi or other
cars --- having to stop at traffic lights in between --- to the outside of the
ring for a shortened ring walk.
Seventh Avenue remained open to traffic, with orange fencing blocking the view
of fans standing across the street wondering what was happening inside.
Those who did have ringside access --- and it was unclear how many did or how
they got it --- could pass the time between bouts reading the ticker that
scrolled along the outside of ABC's Times Square studios just above the ring.
Boxers such as Mike Tyson, Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson had seats
outside the ring along with New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns and ---
this being Times Square --- a couple of people wearing Elmo costumes.
The event marked the return to the ring for both Garcia and Haney for the first
time since Garcia's victory last April 20 in Brooklyn was overturned to a
no-contest after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was
suspended for a year. They were expected to pursue a rematch if both won Friday.
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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
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