PHILADELPHIA – It took Ra’eese Aleem only 3½ rounds Friday night to turn Adam Lopez’s face into a bloody mess.

By then, Lopez’s handlers had seen more than enough to stop their scheduled eight-round super bantamweight bout to prevent Lopez from taking excessive punishment. Aleem was declared the winner of their “ShoBox: The New Generation” co-feature at 1:31 of the fourth round at 2300 Arena.

Aleem, a Las Vegas resident raised in Muskegon, Michigan, improved to 16-0 and recorded his 10th knockout. San Antonio’s Lopez slipped to 19-4-2 (9 KOs) and lost by technical knockout for the second time in his eight-year pro career.

A left hook by Aleem landed hard to the side of Lopez’s headed about 30 seconds into the fourth round. Aleem continued connecting with hard shots that badly bloodied Lopez’s nose.

Eventually, Lopez’s corner men had seen enough. Cut man Danny Milano jumped up on the ring apron and told referee Gary Rosato to stop the fight.

Aleem landing a thudding right to Lopez’s body after catching Lopez with a left up top about a minute into the third round. A counter left hook by Aleem landed with just under 40 seconds to go in the third.

Lopez held Aleem’s arm so tightly early in the second round, he went down to the canvas while trying to hang on. A straight left by Aleem caught Lopez in the middle of his face later in the second.

Lopez tripped and fell to the canvas just before the second round ended. By then, Lopez had suffered a cut along the left side of his hair line. 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.