When you?re a Puerto Rican prizefighter, your career is almost immediately intertwined with every other fighter who has hailed from the Caribbean island. If you?re a power puncher, you will be compared with Felix Trinidad; a slick boxer, and comparisons will be made to Wilfred Benitez. Even among your contemporaries, there is a pressure to succeed that is unlike any in the modern fight game.
So as Juan Manuel Lopez warmed up for his first title fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon in Atlantic City on June 7, 2008, the news that his fellow Boricua, Carlos Quintana, had just lost his title in the first round to Paul Williams nearly 200 miles away in Connecticut meant just one thing ? he had to fly the flag for Puerto Rico that night.
And fly it he did, as he blitzed Ponce De Leon and took his title in just two minutes and 25 seconds. Now you may wonder, what does this fight from over a year ago have to do with Lopez? fourth defense of his WBO super bantamweight crown this Saturday night against Olivier Lontchi, besides being in the same arena, Boardwalk Hall?
Well, with Lopez being a Puerto Rican headlining a large east coast venue, you must obviously shoot back to June 13th, when Miguel Cotto defended his WBO welterweight belt against Joshua Clottey before a raucous crowd at New York?s Madison Square Garden. For promoter Top Rank, this weekend?s ?Latin Fury? event will be a good gauge of where Lopez is at as an attraction compared to his more celebrated compatriot. For Lopez though, he has to concentrate simply on lifting his perfect 25-0 (23 KOs) record to 26-0.
?I try not to think about other things that I can?t control,? Lopez told MaxBoxing through Top Rank?s ace publicist Ricardo Jimenez. ?I know what I like to do, what the fans like to see out of me, and what they expect out of me and that?s just what I?m gonna give them, the best that I can. I know there are other boxers out there, other champions that are doing well, and that?s good for them, but I?m just trying to give the best show possible.?
Lopez has yet to fail on that account, as he?s torn through all comers on his way to the top of the 122-pound weight class. And in typical Top Rank fashion, he?s been moved beautifully through the ranks, facing the requisite amount of veterans (Luis Bolano, Edel Ruiz, Giovanni Andrade, Hugo Dianzo) and fellow prospects (Cuauhtemoc Vargas and Jonathan Oquendo) before getting his title shot and making the most of it. In other words, he passed all his tests, and when the final exam came, he was ready and he aced it, becoming the class of the Olympic Class of 2004.
?I feel like I?m really just starting,? admitted the 25-year old. ?I?ve only been doing this for four years, but no question, my career has gone very well and the company (Top Rank) has done well by me. I think that shows when they put me in these positions where they know I?ll do well and they take me to places where they know I?ll succeed with the crowd. What I need to do is just give a great show and give them something they?ll remember me by.?
Since winning the title from De Leon, Lopez has logged three title defenses, taking out Cesar Figueroa (KO1), Sergio Medina (TKO1), and Gerry Penalosa (TKO10). The Penalosa win was particularly impressive, considering that Lopez hit the Filipino standout with everything but the corner stool before trainer Freddie Roach called the bout, and he just kept coming, dishing out more and more punishment with each passing round.
?About the eighth round, I figured this guy wasn?t gonna go down,? said Lopez. ?I was hurting him so much that I thought the corner or referee was gonna stop him ? I said somebody?s got to stop him or he?s gonna get hurt. But I kept going after him, because I knew somebody was gonna stop it. Nobody wants to take that much damage and they shouldn?t have to.?
The fight showed Lopez? continued maturation as a fighter, as he kept his cool even when matched with someone he couldn?t dispatch early with one of his thudding combinations. It was the type of test few knockout artists pass, but Lopez did, leading to more talk of him engaging in bouts with Israel Vazquez (who has since moved to the featherweight division), Rafael Marquez, or Celestino Caballero. But first, he must pass another test, and that?s the one where he must stay focused in the gym and in the ring before facing a virtually unknown opponent like the 18-0-2 Lontchi.
?I don?t believe in easy opponents or easy fights,? said Lopez. ?I think you have to prepare yourself for the hardest fight you can possibly prepare for and that?s the way you have to go into the ring. You have to be very aware of what he?s capable of doing and stick to your business. It?s important to maintain your focus and consider this the biggest fight, because if you?re not ready for this one, then you?re never gonna be ready for the next one.?
If he gets by Lontchi, the big fights will be coming, ones that will take Lopez not only to the level of Cotto in popularity and prestige, but ones that will lead to even loftier comparisons ? to the last great 122-pounder from Puerto Rico, Wilfredo Gomez, who had already logged 13 successful super bantamweight title defenses by the time he hit 25.
?When I hear those kinds of things, it obviously makes you feel good that somebody would think of you as much as a great fighter like Gomez, one of the greatest fighters we?ve ever had here,? said Lopez. ?So it makes me feel good and like I?m going in the right direction, but I know I?m going to have to work really, really hard to get to where he was, and that?s what I do. I work really hard, just like I?ve been doing for the last four years, and I?m trying to get to the same places he did.?
And when he does, they?ll be comparing the new crop of Puerto Rican fighters to Juan Manuel Lopez.
