Joppy Gets in Position for Trinidad

William Joppy did his part.

The World Boxing Assn. middleweight champ, looking to secure his spot for a potential fight with Felix Trinidad in the near future, put on a clinic against Jonathan Reid Saturday night on the undercard of the Trinidad-Fernando Vargas fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Joppy (32-1-1, 24 knockouts) was peppering the previously undefeated, and unprotected, Reid’s head with lefts and rights when referee Joe Cortez stepped in and put an end to the one-sided fight at 2:43 of the fourth round.

Joppy, of Silver Spring, MD, had already knocked Reid (27-1) down with six consecutive head shots against the ropes in the third round.

The WBA 160-pound champ connected on 56% of his punches (190 of 341) while Reid, of Nashville, Tenn., hit on 21% (21 of 99).

Equally as dominant was Ricardo Lopez in defending his International Boxing Federation light flyweight title against Ratanapol Vorapin.

Lopez (49-0-1, 36 knockouts) punished Vorapin (38-6-1) with an assortment of uppercuts and hooks before referee Richard Steele ended the fight at 2:11 of the third round.

Lopez, of Tacubaya, Mexico, landed 44% of his punches (58 of 133) while Vorapin, a former IBF champ from Dankoonthod, Thailand, connected on 10% (seven of 71).

Also on the card: Juan Gomez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, beat Arturo Reyes of Los Angeles by TKO at 2:08 of the second round in a lightweight fight. Gomez’s record improved to 19-2; Jose Flores of Navajoa, Mexico, successfully defended his North American Boxing Assn. junior middleweight title and improved to 41-8 with a 12-round unanimous decision win over Emmett Linton of Tacoma, Wash.; Miguel Angel Gonzalez of Ensenada, Mexico, made quick work of Alex Lubo of Pembroke Pines, Fla., with a first-round TKO in 1:30 of a welterweight fight. Gonzalez improved to 44-2-1; Eduardo Mendivil of Ontario improved to 4-1-3 with a unanimous decision victory over Raul Flores of Houston in a four-round welterweight bout; Christy Martin of Orlando, Fla., caught Sabrina Hall of Grafton, Ohio, with a vicious overhand right and won with a first-round knockout in 1:05. Martin improved to 41-2-2.