‘Destroyer’ returns to Desert Diamond Casino

Southern Arizona’s most popular fighter is back in action.

David “The Destroyer” Lopez is scheduled to face hard-punching Samuel Miller for the WBC’s Latino Middleweight Title on Friday at the Desert Diamond Casino.

The fight will be televised nationally on Telefutura.

Lopez (36-12, 23 KO) and Miller (18-2, 15 KO) were originally scheduled to face each other on Aug. 1, but the hard-punching Colombian was forced to withdraw two days prior to the bout after suffering an injury in training camp.

In Lopez’s last appearance at the Diamond Center, he knocked out Ohio’s Billy Lyell in the fifth round, giving the Sonoran middleweight his 12th straight win and his 17th victory in his last 18 ring appearances.

Shortly after the Lyell bout, Lopez ran into some trouble with Mexican police, as he was accused of assaulting a couple outside of a dance club and resisting arrest. Lopez has vehemently maintained his innocence and no further action was taken in the case.

Lopez’s win streak has started turning heads in the national boxing media. He has climbed to No. 10 in ESPN.com’s middleweight rankings and No. 12 on Boxrec.com. He currently sits No. 3 on the WBC’s rankings, and a win Friday night might move him into a position to battle for the WBC interim crown if current middleweight kingpin Kelly Pavlik continues fighting at higher weight classes (Pavlik battles Bernard Hopkins for the light heavyweight belt on Oct. 18).

Miller hasn’t faced top-level competition for much of his five-year professional career, but his brawl with Darrell Woods on a Nate Campbell undercard was one of 2007’s most action-packed, under-the-radar bouts.

In the co-main event, former WBC featherweight titlist Kevin Kelley (60-8, 39 KO) will make his first appearance in Arizona when he faces David Rodela (10-1, 6 KO).

Kelley was one of the world’s elite featherweights througout the 1990s, winning his first 41 bouts and engaging in some of the era’s fiercest battles.

Despite eventually falling to former pound-for-pound champion “Prince” Naseem Hamed, their epic four-round bout — a fight where Kelley knocked Hamed to the canvas twice — was one of 1997’s most exciting fights.

The rest of the card will feature Golden Boy Promotions prospects Austin Trout (15-0, 11 KO), twin brothers Carlos (9-0, 8 KO) and Juan Velasquez (9-0, 5 KO) and Jermell Charlo (5-0, 4 KO).

Doors open at 4 with the first fight taking place at 4:30. Tickets are available at any Ticketmaster location, or by calling 321-1000. For more information, visit www.desertdiamondcasino.com.

Check Friday’s edition of the Green Valley News for further details on these bouts.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747