Perspective usually comes with age and loss. But people never fundamentally change.
Former super bantamweight and featherwieght champion Juanma Lopez is publicly gregarious. When speaking to the media, he has always been more than willing to name future opponents (Yuriorkis Gamboa) while shooting down those he has deemed unworthy (Celestino Caballero).
After being defeated twice by Orlando Salido, Lopez (33-2, 30 KOs) appeared to have lowered the volume ? somewhat.
On the eve of his fight against the talented and dangerous Mikey Garcia, however, he?s back to wishing loudly for a future that might not come.
Lopez has been publicly calling for a shot against 126-pound Nonito Donaire. He really should be more worried about facing Garcia (31-0, 26 KOs) this Saturday in Dallas, Texas.
Juanma Lopez and Mikey Garcia have several common rivals on their resume. But the one everyone points to is Orlando Salido, the only man to have defeated Lopez. The way those fights turned out is thought to be a harbinger of what?s to come: Salido beat Lopez twice by technical knockout, while Garcia dropped Salido four times on the way to a technical decision win.
This does not necessarily mean that Saturday?s outcome is predetermined. It will be a different affair stylistically. Mikey Garcia is not going to go after Juanma Lopez the way Salido did. But Garcia is not only an intelligent fighter; he also has some power, which should make for an interesting showdown. What Juanma Lopez must do to win
Mikey Garcia is a methodical fighter who likes to build a fight at his own pace. Juanma Lopez will have to use his power to try to take Garcia out of that comfort zone in the early rounds. Lopez?s defensive liabilities have been exposed throughout his career, so he?ll need to find a way to stay away from Garcia?s jab. A victory would definitely put him in a position to be able to choose his opponents again.
What Mikey Garcia must do to win
Mikey Garcia, the World Boxing Organization Featherweight Champ, is a patient, smart fighter. He knows the past does not predict future outcomes. He?ll have to respect Juanma Lopez?s power and not fall into the temptation of going toe-to-toe in an effort to please the Dallas crowd. He?ll likely try to keep Lopez at distance and inflict increasing damage that can pay off in the later rounds and lead to victory.
