Juan Manuel Lopez?s 2010 campaign was full of suspense, achievement and continuing speculation. The WBO featherweight champion seems to have superstardom at his fingertips but while the Puerto Rican has shown great promise inside of the ring, he has also shown moments of vulnerability that make you wonder about his immediate future.
Lopez started the year off by dethroning Steven Luevano at the theatre in Madison Square Garden in New York as he moved up in weight to better acclimate himself. Lopez was simply the classier fighter between the two men and stopped Luevano in the 7th round.
In July Lopez made the first defense of his belt with a wild stoppage over brave Filipino contender Bernabe Concepcion in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The first round was one of the most memorable of the year as Lopez floored his 22-year old foe early before catching a flush left hand and being dropped himself as the stanza closed. Lopez would regroup to blast his overmatched foe towards the end of the second round.
In his last appearance we saw Lopez face off with two division champion Rafael Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Lopez took some heavy blows early but found a way to weather the storm and methodically break down his older foe from Mexico City. After eight rounds of punishment Marquez elected to remain on his stool, thus granting Lopez another highlight victory.
While those words give an initial glimpse into Lopez?s progression this year, one can only truly get a sense for him as a fighter by looking at the images that defined his year. Please continue on to the slideshow for more of Lopez?s story or click HERE
