Juan Manuel Lopez stopped Rafael Marquez but the Mexican veteran didn’t go without a fight Saturday in Las Vegas.

The brawlers engaged in a spirited fight for five or six rounds before Lopez wore down Marquez with a accumulation of hard punches. Marquez had taken a bad beating in the seventh and eighth rounds and then declined to come out for the ninth, claiming an injury to his right shoulder.

Lopez (30-0, 27 knockouts) was making the second defense of his featherweight title.

Marquez (39-6, 35 KOs) was coming off a third-round KO victory over rival Israel Vazquez in the fourth fight in their series.