Freddie Roach asked the referee to stop the fight just before the bell rang to start the 10th round in the Gerry Penalosa vs. Juan Manuel Lopez fight.

I think it was the right thing to do, as it seemed like a lost cause from the start for Penalosa. Don’t get me wrong, Gerry was good, he has great skills. But in my opinion, it’s simply a mismatch. Lopez could take his punches without even wincing. He’s just simply too strong and much, much younger than Penalosa.

Juan Manuel Lopez dominated from start to finish. He took Penalosa’s blows lightly, as if a kid half his age was hitting him. He didn’t even get a scratch.

Several weeks prior to this match, I had a feeling it was going to go down this way.  And as the day came closer, I was becoming surer that it would.

Penalosa didn’t want to stop the fight, but Roach had other ideas. He saw what prolonging the inevitable could do to a fighter like Gerry, and I think that is what prompted him to call it quits. No matter how skilled a boxer you are, there comes a time when you have to accept you are simply over the hill, and there are roadblocks that you just can’t go over anymore. And Lopez is just one of those roadblocks.

I do salute Penalosa for having the heart to want to continue. He never went down the canvass. He should be proud of that. He is a true champion.

Just one thing though: I think it was a stupid move by the referee to warn Penalosa to keep his head up when it was Lopez who was using his arms to keep Penalosa stooping down. If that’s not biased, I don’t know what is.