Video by Ryan Burton

Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas - Former featherweight world champion Oscar Valdez (27-0, 21 KOs) made his debut at 130-pounds and was forced to get off the floor to stop very late replacement Adam Lopez (13-2, 6 KOs) in the seventh round. (photos by Mikey Williams)

Valdez was scheduled to face Andres Gutierrez, who was pulled from the fight after being 11-pounds over the limit at Friday's official weigh-in. Lopez, who was scheduled for a featherweight bout on the undercard, stepped in.

Lopez came out with a solid jab. Valdez was throwing and landing the much bigger punches.  Valdez was controlling the second, until Lopez a solid hook that sent the former champ down to the mat. Valdez beat the count, seemed a bit shaken but stayed on the move until the end of the round.

 

Valdez seemed to edge the third, but both had moments. Lopez was letting his hands go at the start of the fourth. In the fifth, Lopez was really letting his hands go and landing a lot of shots on Valdez. A close sixth that could have gone either way.

In the seventh, Lopez got caught by a hard hook and went down. Lopez was surviving and seemed to be doing well, but Valdez was connecting with hard shots and the referee jumped in a bit too early for some.