Miguel Lora vs Enrique Sanchez

Miguel Lora retained the WBC bantamweight championship by stopping Enrique Sanchez in the sixth round at the Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, on 23 August 1986. Lora entered unbeaten at 25-0 and was making the second defence of the title he had won from Daniel Zaragoza a year earlier. Sanchez, an experienced Dominican with a record of 47-4-1, represented a considerably more seasoned challenger. The bout formed part of a Don King promotion which also featured Mike McCallum’s WBA super-welterweight defence against Julian Jackson.

Lora had established himself as an unusually composed bantamweight champion. He was not dependent upon one method. He could box at distance, change direction smoothly and score with quick combinations, but he was also capable of holding his ground when an opponent pressed him. Against Sanchez he gradually imposed those advantages rather than attempting to force an early finish. In the early rounds Lora steadily gained command.

Sanchez remained willing through the early stages, but Lora’s speed and accuracy increasingly separated the two men. The champion’s previous defence, against Wilfredo Vazquez in February, had required him to recover from a fourth-round knockdown before winning over twelve rounds. Against Sanchez, Lora maintained control and often hurt the challenger, making the contest progressively one-sided. The Colombian’s ability to move in and out of range while still punching with authority prevented Sanchez from establishing sustained pressure of his own.

By the middle rounds, Sanchez was being forced to absorb repeated clean attacks. Lora knocked him down several times before the finish. The accumulation of punishment had become decisive by the sixth. Lora continued attacking until Sanchez was no longer able to compete effectively, and the contest was halted, with the champion retaining his title by technical knockout.

The victory carried Lora’s record to 26-0 and strengthened his position as one of the leading bantamweights of the period. He had taken the WBC championship from Zaragoza by unanimous decision in August 1985 and had successfully defended it against Vazquez before meeting Sanchez. His next defence would come against former champion Alberto Davila in Barranquilla later that year, beginning a run of further successful title contests which eventually included Antonio Avelar, Ray Minus, Lucio Omar Lopez and a second meeting with Davila.

For Sanchez, the defeat ended a championship challenge in which his experience had not been enough to overcome Lora’s superior timing and control. He had entered with more than fifty professional contests behind him, but the champion’s precision steadily reduced the fight to a question of how long the challenger could withstand the punishment. Lora did not produce the sort of sudden one-punch ending often associated with the lighter divisions. Instead, he broke Sanchez down over six rounds, scored repeated knockdowns, and completed a decisive defence that confirmed the breadth of his ability as a world champion.

I’ve always rated Miguel Lora because he could do a bit of everything. By the time he faced Enrique Sanchez, he was 25-0, had taken the WBC bantamweight title from Daniel Zaragoza and already defended it against Wilfredo Vazquez. Sanchez was experienced at 47-4-1, but Lora was operating at a higher level.

What stands out is the control. Lora’s feet, timing and punch selection kept Sanchez reacting rather than setting anything up. He broke him down, put him over repeatedly and finished matters in the sixth.

For me, that was Lora at his best: clever without being negative, accurate without wasting punches, and ruthless once the openings appeared.