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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Lora tops Medina for IBA title

WORLEY, Idaho – Favio Medina never got a chance to prove he was a strong finisher.

The Sandpoint boxer walked into the left hand of Orlando Lora, derailing his dream of a world championship.

Lora from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, kept his record perfect Thursday night at the Coeur d’Alene Casino House of Fury, his 23rd win earning him the IBA junior middleweight championship.

Newman Lake heavyweight Skyler Anderson saved the day for the sellout crowd of 1,800, stopping Chris Koval of Youngstown, Ohio, at 1:35 of the sixth round.

But Medina (20-2-2) was the main draw and the end shocked him.

“He was coming with the left hand and caught me flush,” Medina said. “I walked into it with my hands down.”

It was a struggle from the start for Medina, who had a tough time getting inside the taller Lora’s reach. Lora was the aggressor and a right hand knocked Medina down in the first round, although it was as much the result of his feet getting tangled up.

The match was even and entertaining after that with Medina scoring with flurries, countering Lora, who tossed left jabs trying to set up his big right. Both appeared dazed at points in the third round and in the fourth Medina became more of the aggressor but the action slowed in the fifth.

After that it seemed as if Lora, who has 17 knockouts, sensed that it would be in his best interest to finish the fight, but each time he backed Medina to the ropes, Medina answered.

“He was a tough opponent,” Lora said. “He weathered everything I hit him with. (But) I was very confident. My style is to be the aggressor. I was trying to get him out of there. He butted me a lot but he really didn’t hurt me.”

Finally, at 1:37 of the seventh round, he tagged Medina flush and the fight was over.

The end of the semi-main event was just as sudden.

The early rounds had Koval, 24-5 with 18 knockouts, stalking Anderson, getting him on the ropes and following a couple soft left jabs with haymaker rights. However, Anderson usually ducked under the wild roundhouse rights, weathered the storm the few times he got tagged, and countered with left jabs.

Finally, in the closing seconds of the fifth round, Anderson dropped Koval. He picked up where he left off in the sixth round, getting another early knockdown, then pinning Koval in the corner and finishing him off.

“He was definitely the most savvy, most experienced boxer I’ve faced,” Anderson said after improving his record to 12-1-1 with his eighth knockout. “He was slipping my second jab and that threw me. He’s the first fighter I’ve faced that could do that. … The jab is my favorite punch, it’s my best punch.”

Medina’s brother Manny highlighted the undercard by winning his pro debut with a second-round technical knockout of Jonathan Senquiz of Cleveland in a 147-pound fight scheduled for four rounds.

Adam Torrez of Reno scored a unanimous decision over late fill-in Jess Selway of Browning, Mont., in a four-round 154-pound fight.

Leo Bercier of Great Falls won a majority decision over Ron Simmons of Lewiston in a four-round 190-pound fight.

Osvaldo Rojas of Portland and David Lopez of Caldwell fought to a draw in a six-round fight at 160 pounds.