Najee Lopez continues his journey from one of the most exciting prospects in world boxing to bona fide fighting contender, climbing off the canvas to beat Manuel Gallegos with a thumping knockout, prevailing in a Fight of the Year contender at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee on Friday, March 14.
I first saw Lopez when covering a combat sports event in Plant City, Florida, back in December, 2023.
Lopez, 8-0 at the time, advanced his pro record to 9-0 (7 KOs), with a third-round finish over Yildo Depestre. It was a particularly nasty performance that showed a then-novice fighter’s appreciation of controlled violence. I remember turning to his promoter Daniel Rubin, who had been marveling over Lopez’s skills to me through the week, and said Lopez looked like “a bad man.” Rubin said: “The baddest,” with a broad smile.
Few may be smiling more waking up Saturday than Lopez, now 26, and Rubin, as the fighter again showed he’s must-see ProBox TV — one of the best fighters in the stable of boxers who continue to compete under Garry Jonas’s banner.
Against Gallegos, in the opening round, he showcased a solid jab and lead left hand hook, and finished the opener with a right hand and uppercut combination that put Gallegas on wobbly legs. A clash of heads seemed to open a weeping cut around Lopez’s right eye in the second, with left hands from Gallegos no doubt making it worse, as both guys exchanged with bad intentions in a fire-fight.
Doctors inspected Lopez’s facial injury before the third, due to the open gash and noticeable swelling below the eye, too, yet were happy enough to watch the fight continue, and so they ripped shots to one another’s body, while attacking the head, too.
Lopez, bloodied and bruised, pounced on Gallegos with snappy rights early in the seventh, only to leave himself open to his opponent’s counters, with a short-range right hand seating Lopez on the canvas. Najee popped back up like it wasn’t even a bother, and stared Gallegos down with menace. The referee called a clash of heads as soon as they boxed, and Lopez shook off any dizziness by returning to his snappy jab, hook, and right hand.
Heading into the eighth, Lopez had out-landed Gallegos by 164 shots to 129, bettering his output in all but one round — the fourth — when they were tied with 25 shots connected, each.
Lopez had Gallegos hurt midway through the round, teed off on him, unfurled flurries to the head with his opponent’s back to the ropes, and punched him so well, over and over, that Gallegos’s head just seemed to bounce around as if almost independent from his body. Lopez mercilessly hit him with rights and lefts until he fell spectacularly to the ground and it was all over. Lopez dropped to his knees as if to say thanks to God, and his corner jumped around excited — both inside, and outside the ropes.
With victory, Lopez advanced his pro record to 16-0 (13 KOs) and, critically, showed he could be the fighter to be the next in line to bring compelling action to the light heavyweight division, while older combatants like Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev — who have dominated 175 pounds between them for a decade — instead battle inactivity.
“I’m a true champion and I’m here to stay,” Lopez said. “I’m willing to prove it every time I step in the ring.
“I’m not going to lie — that ring was small and he’s a big guy,” Lopez added. “I felt not only his shots; I let his presence. He came to win, but I showed I was there to win, too.”
“Soon as I had him on the hook, I wasn’t going to let him off. That was a test and I felt I passed it.”
Lopez may feel he passed a test, and he did. However, he also showed that he’s one of the most consistent fan-friendly action fighters not just on ProBox TV, but in the entire sport.
Watch the extended highlights of his win over Gallegos right here:
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