‘Destroyer’ wallops Walker, wins 11th bout in a row

Another fight, another win for David Lopez.

The Nogales-based middleweight claimed his 11th consecutive victory with a lopsided unanimous decision over Chicago’s Michael Walker on Friday night’s Telefutura headliner in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lopez (35-12, 22 KOs) utilized a stiff left jab and drastically improved footwork to keep the previously undefeated Walker (18-1-2, 12 KOs) at bay over the duration of the 10-round bout.

After a tepid round one, both fighters started to mix it up in round two, with Lopez planting left hands in Walker’s face for the better part of three minutes.

Lopez landed the first significant shot in round 3 — an uppercut that almost sent Walker to the canvas.

The middle rounds provided little action, as Walker attempted to dance around Lopez’s jab and counterpunch to little avail.

Lopez nearly ended the fight again in the seventh round with a powerful flurry, but Walker withstood the barrage and utilized his quickess to avoid further punishment.

Outside of a wrestling-style takedown in round eight, Walker didn’t apply much pressure until the 10th round.

Sensing he needed a knockout to keep his unblemished record intact, Walker caught Lopez with a left hook and a straight right that wobbled the Sonoran fighter.

An accidental headbutt opened a gash over Lopez right eye, but he managed to make it through the round.

Judges Jesse Reyes, Oren Shellenberger and Neal Young each scored the bout 98-92 in favor of “The Destroyer.”

Since becoming a full-time middleweight in 2003, Lopez has won 16 of 17 bouts. The only loss during this time period came on Jan. 6, 2005 at Desert Diamond Casino against Fulgencio Zuniga in a bout he led on the scorecards before Zuniga knocked him out one minute before the final bell.

Walker is the third undefeated fighter over this five-year stretch — joining Lonnie Bradley and Jerson Ravelo — to suffer his first loss at the hands of “The Destroyer.”

What’s next?

Now that the 30-year-old Lopez has established himself as one of the middleweight division’s hottest fighters, it’s time for Golden Boy Promotions to cash in on Lopez’s momentum and find him a meaningful bout.

After his fifth-round destruction of Ryan Davis on the Bernard Hopkins versus Joe Calzaghe undercard, GBP public relations director Ramiro Gonzales said the company had big plans for Lopez.

“We’re going to have him fight for a world title,” Gonzalez said. “We want Lopez to become the first-ever Mexican middleweight champion.”

Felix Sturm (WBA), Arthur Abraham (IBF) and, of course, middleweight kingpin Kelly Pavlik (WBO, WBC) are the current 160-pound belt-holders.

Pavlik currently has his sights set on a potential mega-fight in the fall, with possible opponents ranging from Joe Calzaghe, Roy Jones, Ronald “Winky” Wright or possibly Abraham, if the hard-nosed German can get past Edison Miranda in next week’s super middleweight bout.

Sturm doesn’t leave his native Germany to fight anyone other than Oscar De La Hoya and is scheduled to face Randy Griffin on July 5.

Given these circumstances, it might take some time before Lopez is given the opportunity to challenge any middleweight title-holders.

In addition, the 12 losses on his record make Lopez a tough sell for any promoter looking to put together a title bout.

So what fight makes the most sense for Lopez at this point in his career?

Golden Boy should look into revisiting its original intentions of a Lopez versus Marco Antonio Rubio bout.

Rubio (42-4, 37 KOs) had to pull out of their April 19 fight on the aforementioned Hopkins-Calzaghe card due to a hand injury he suffered during training.

It was shaping up to be an interesting match-up between two tough veterans. If Golden Boy could find a way to make this fight happen, it could generate a great deal of interest in Mexico.

Like Lopez, Rubio is one of Mexico’s most accomplished middleweights.

On Friday, GBP announced that Joel Casamayor will defend his lightweight championship against Juan Manuel Marquez.

“We will put together a very solid card which will pay tribute to the Mexican Independence Day weekend,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael.

Doesn’t a match-up between Lopez and Rubio make a lot of sense for that undercard?

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747