In January, 26-year-old Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0, 25 knockouts) scored a seventh-round knockout which dethroned WBO featherweight (126 pounds) king Steven Luevano (37-2-1, 15 KOs).
The long-range goal of Top Rank promoter, Bob Arum, is to have Lopez face Cuban-born, WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (17-0, 15 KOs) of Miami, a 28-year-old, 2004 Olympic gold medalist who will be after his eighth consecutive knockout when he makes the third defense of his crown against hard-punching, steel-chinned, 26-year-old Argentinian Jonathan Victor Barros (28-0-1, 16 KOs) on March 27 at The Sporthalle in Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany.
FanHouse caught up to Lopez on Feb. 13, when he watched from ringside as 22-year-old Bernabe Concepcion (28-3-1, 15 KOs), of Rizal, Philippines, earned a unanimous decision victory over Puerto Rican southpaw Mario Santiago (21-2-1, 14 KOs) for the right to face Lopez perhaps in June.
Lopez is also shown in this video meeting seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), whom he calls, the best fighter in the sport today.
