Quote Originally Posted by mike_tha_man View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Bilbo View Post
Quote Originally Posted by mike_tha_man View Post


Yes Bilbo i can. i have seen more than just two or three of his fights. i actually got to see him in a local gym in Carolina, Puerto Rico as an amature a couple of years back. you can ask CutMeMick that i have for a long time been saying that Lopez will be the next big thing in boxing. Waaaay before the De Leon fight. but anyways you cant tell me that this kid first: is not a star in the making, second: look mediocre and that people are just over hyping him and third: you cant honestly say that he doesn't look capable of hanging in there with the big boys. don't make an assumption just based on his last two performances because i for sure have not. I'm pretty sure if you see some of his other fights you will think so too. (not sure if you have or not)
I've only seen his last two fights Mike. If you've seen him fight rounds then I'll take your word that he's got a good chin and stamina, I'm just saying that he's still largely unproven at this point.

But the De Leon win was clearly huge, I just havn't seen him fight a real fight yet so can't say whether or not he could win a war with someone like Isreal Vazquez. To be fair you've seen a lot more of him than I have though. I thought you were one of the bandwagon jumpers hopping on after seeing him for less than 6 total minutes

i agree that no one can say for sure but unlike those many (and i mean many) bandwagon jumpers i have seen and followed Lopez from the beginning (some amature fights). i mean i love boxing and i follow the sport but my true interest is in fighters that come out of my beautiful island of Puerto Rico (for obvious reasons) and JuanMa has been on my radar. you are right that he has not been able to show to everyone his true potentials yet. so in a way, you my friend are correct, its to early to say clearly with not having something to base those comments on, but remember when i tell you Bilbo, i have seen Lopez put in some rounds and he has the goods to be the best in his division.

and if you get a chance get a look at these fighters that will make a mark on the sport soon. *for the record*

Roman Martinez 20-0-1 (12 ko's)
Alex De Jesus 19-0 (13 ko's)
Carlos Ivan Velasquez 9-0 (8 ko's)
Juan Carlos Velasquez 9-0 (5 ko's)
Wilfredo Vasquez Jr 12-0-1 (10 ko's)
Jesus Rojas 12-0 (10 ko's)
Cesar Seda Jr 13-0 (9 ko's)
Mario Santiago 19-1-1 (14 ko's)
i've seen almost every Lopez fight and plenty of them in person, in fact i was there last night, and i'll be the first to say that both shots were solid shots (even though it's obvious by the way Figueroa went down) they echoed throughout the arena, but a reason not to hype up the victory, Figueroa went into training camp a good 30 lbs overweight, and he himself said in an interview before the fight, that he lost over 25 lbs in the first 3 weeks of training alone, so really what does that tell you? it wasn't as much a training camp as it was a weight loss camp, no one to blame but himself, and i doubt it would of made much a difference anyway, but it shows the quality of opponant that Lopez had put in front of him, as for his stamina, it's not horrible but he has gotten either a bit fatigued or turns down his work rate as he get's into the later rounds, best example was his fight against Hugo Dianzo, which honestly to me was a bullshit TKO in the tenth, although Juanma was winning the fight, he was just a bit lethargic against again mediocre competition, i'm not saying he can't beat the best, but until he does so, he's not the best in the division, i think he's the #5 best super bantamweight in the world, right in this order

1. Israel Vazquez
2. Rafael Marquez
3. Steve Molitor
4. Celestino Caballero
5. Juan Manuel Lopez

next fight that should happen, Juan Manuel Lopez Vs. Jhonny Gonzales December 6th