Valasquez Beats Lewis for 3rd Time to Retain State Lightweight Title

Robert Lewis uses the nickname Bad Man. He has fought Rico Valasquez three times this year, and perhaps it’s time to change the nickname to Bad Plan.

Valasquez retained his California lightweight title Friday night at the Country Club in Reseda, stopping Lewis at 1:38 of the fifth round. He has defended the championship just twice since winning it early this year. Both defenses have been against Lewis.

And if Lewis is depressed by his three consecutive losses to Valasquez, his record against everyone else is not likely to make him do cartwheels across the ring, either. The loss dropped him to 9-14-3. He was stopped on a cut in March by Valasquez and then lost a decision to him in May.

Valasquez and Lewis were late replacements on the card when officials at Ten Goose Boxing in North Hollywood were forced to scramble to replace the Jesus Poll-Julian Solis super bantamweight title bout. That North American Boxing Federation fight was scrapped Wednesday after both fighters failed neurological exams, according to the State Athletic Commission.

Lewis might have been tempted to use the excuse that he had only two days’ notice for the fight, which would be a decent enough excuse had Valasquez not had only one days’ notice.

And Lewis could have blamed the loss on the fact that he had fought in Redondo Beach just seven days ago. But Valasquez fought in Riverside nine days ago.

“Tonight he just got caught by a good punch,” said Bill Bender, Lewis’ manager.

Actually, he got caught with several good punches. The beginning of the end came midway through the fifth round when Valasquez tagged Lewis with a crunching right to the side of the head. Lewis dropped his hands and fell against the ropes, and Valasquez quickly delivered a left hook that sent him through the ropes.

After a standing eight-count, Lewis became the recipient of a furious barrage of punches. A three-punch combination in Lewis’ corner snapped the fighter’s head back and again his arms fell to his sides. Referee Chuck Hassett pulled Valasquez away and stopped the fight.

In the first bout on the card, which was televised by the ESPN cable sports network, Nate Houser of Long Beach scored a fourth-round TKO over Terry Verners of Fresno in a scheduled six-round light heavyweight bout.

In another bout, light heavyweight Marcellus Allen of Portland, Ore., scored a unanimous eight-round decision over Robert Underwood of Cincinnati.