By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten southpaw Cody Crowley of Canada will be facing veteran Josesito Lopez of Riverside, California in a 10-round welterweight clash in Arlington, Texas this Saturday, April 16th. The 10-round welterweight bout can be seen live in North America on Showtime Pay-Per-View on the undercard of Errol Spence Jr vs Yordenis Ugas. Lopez last fought in December, 2020 when he stopped Francisco Santana in the 10th and final round. Crowley was last in action in December when he beat Kudratillo Abdukakhorov via a 10-round unanimous decision.
Lopez is now 37 years of age and has a mark of 38-8 with 21 Kos to his name. He’s best known for stopping Victor Ortiz back in 2012 and breaking his jaw in the process. Lopez turned pro in 2003 and has 289 rounds under his belt. He’s been stopped three times as Saul Canelo Alvarez halted him in five rounds in 2012, Marcos Maidana stopped him in six in 2013 and Andre Berto took him out in six rounds in 2015.
He’s also dropped decisions to Rodrigo Lopez in 2003, Wes Ferguson in 2006, Edgar Santana in 2008, Jessie Vargas in 2011 and Keith Thurman in 2019 when he lost a majority decision in a shot at the WBA Super Welterweight Title. Lopez is just over 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69-inch reach. He’s not known for his power and has a current knockout ratio of 43.7 per cent but can still cause damage with his fists.
Lopez has taken on a lot of top-grade boxers over the years and along with beating Ortiz he’s also been successful against Adrian Navarrete, Luis Arceo, Tyrone Harris, Anthony Mora, Marvin Cordova Jr, Sergio Rivera, Mike Dallas, Mike Arnaoutis, Aaron Martinez, Patrick Lopez, Miguel Cruz, John Molina Jr and Saul Corral.
Lopez is a solid pro with a lot of heart and good skills to go along with his experience. Along the way, he has captured the WBC Silver Welterweight, NABF Light Welterweight, WBC Youth World Lightweight, WBC Continental Americas Lightweight, WBC Youth World Super Featherweight, and WBC Intercontinental Mundo Hispano Super Featherweight Titles.
The 29-year-old Crowley hails from Peterborough, Ontario and is a former Canadian Super Welterweight Champion but now fights out of Las Vegas. He carries around a perfect record of 20-0 with 9 Kos and has boxed 119 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014 following an amateur career. He’s 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 72-inch reach which gives him a one-inch edge in height and three-inch reach advantage over Lopez.
Crowley is a solid puncher but not a KO artist as his current knockout ratio stands at 45 per cent. He looked sensational against Abdukakhorov in his last outing in December as he climbed off the canvas in the second round and handed him his first pro defeat. However, most fans haven’t heard of the majority of his opponents as he’s beaten the likes of Edgar Ortega, Stuart McLellan and Josh Torres.
Prediction…
At 38 years of age and after enduring several brawls during his career it’s hard to say what Lopez has left in the tank. He always gives it 100 per cent though so should give Crowley a good fight. Crowley will have the chance to prove that his win over Abdukakhorov wasn’t a one-off great performance and if fights like he did in December I’m expecting him to take care of Lopez in a hard-fought battle.
