Steve Leuvano v Juan Manuel Lopez

[Jimmy G-Force]

I must admit, Lopez is my kind of fighter, everything I've seen of him so far has impressed me. He is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite fighter of the new era. I really cant wait for this fight, I'm just hoping he makes the transition to Featherweight without too many hiccups.

I see this as a great fight for Lopez, between two very tight, skilled technicians. I remember watching Leuvano slowly but surely dismantle Nicky Cook and I must say I was very impressed. He really looked the part that night, and I couldnt really see that many holes in his game. The Cook fight was the first and last time I saw Leuvano, which is probably a little criminal as I usually keep tabs on the fighters from overseas that I like.

This is obviously a total different fight for Lopez compared to his last outing against the rugged, and often wild but always dangerous Mtagwa. That fight certainly ticked a few more boxes for me with regards Lopez's mentality and ability to alter his approach throughout the fight.

I see this being a cagey affair from the offset, with each fighter taking a little time to feel each other out. Both for me are well schooled, but even at the higher weight, I think Lopez may still have the edge with the power and certainly the speed. I see this being a very competitive 12 rounder.

Like I say, Lopez is a fighter that has me really excited, and I dont say that very often. As far as I'm aware this will be his first fight at the Garden, I really hope he rises to the occasion and shines like the star I believe him to be.

Thoughts anyone ?

[ElTerribleMorales]

I must admit, Lopez is my kind of fighter, everything I've seen of him so far as impressed me. He is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite fighter of the new era. I really cant wait for this fight, I'm just hoping he makes the transition to Featherweight without too many hiccups.

I see this as a great fight for Lopez, between two very tight, skilled technicians. I remember watching Leuvano slowly but surely dismantle Nicky Cook and I must say I was very impressed. He really looked the part that night, and I couldnt really see that many holes in his game. The Cook fight was the first and last time I saw Leuvano, which is probably a little criminal as I usually keep tabs on the fighters from overseas that I like.

This is obviously a total different fight for Lopez compared to his last outing against the rugged, and often wild but always dangerous Mtagwa. That fight certainly ticked a few more boxes for me with regards Lopez's mentality and ability to alter his approach throughout the fight.

I see this being a cagey affair from the offset, with each fighter taking a little time to feel each other out. Both for me are well schooled, but even at the higher weight, I think Lopez may still have the edge with the power and certainly the speed. I see this being a very competitive 12 rounder.

Like I say, Lopez is a fighter that has me really excited, and I dont say that very often. As far as I'm aware this will be his first fight at the Garden, I really hope he rises to the occasion and shines like the star I believe him to be.

Thoughts anyone ?

i just hope that he comes in well prepared and doesn't overlook his opponent again, IMO he's taken the comparisons to Wilfredo Gomez too much to heart, if he stays level headed and takes on every opponent as if they were #1 in the division i think he'll be fine, but if he continues to just rely on his power, thinking that anyone he hits will crumble once he lands a huge bomb, he's not gonna live up to the bill of being the next Puerto Rican great

[Fenster]

Good fight. I don't think Lopez will have much trouble with the step up. Leuvano has been hurt a few times. Leuvano to start well but eventually gets broken down. Lopez stoppage 5-8.

[killersheep]

I'm taking Luevano on this one. Lopez is an exciting fighter, and if he learns to pace himself after getting rocked and nearly stopped against Mtagwa, he could take a decision. But, Luevano has a great ring IQ and is one of the best counter punchers in pro boxing. Given JML relies on his offense to be his defense I'd say this is a style that Luevano was made to shine against.

Luevano shockingly wide UD

[Rantcatrat]

I like Lopez in this one, but I hear ya Sheep - Lueveno is definitely a live dog. I plan to be at this fight. Anyone else? Gamboa versus Mtagtwa too.

[killersheep]

I like Lopez in this one, but I hear ya Sheep - Lueveno is definitely a live dog. I plan to be at this fight. Anyone else? Gamboa versus Mtagtwa too.

How great is it that these two fights are happening?

I think Gamboa stays true to form and gets off the deck to overwhelm and stop Mtagwa.

All of a sudden Featherweight is becoming a very well stacked division, Molitor has also moved up (I haven't written him off yet), Jhonny Gonzalez will also be putting in more Featherweight battles and finally Celestino Caballero will definately be entering the Featherweight ranks as well. A very exciting year ahead at 126.

[ElTerribleMorales]

I like Lopez in this one, but I hear ya Sheep - Lueveno is definitely a live dog. I plan to be at this fight. Anyone else? Gamboa versus Mtagtwa too.

How great is it that these two fights are happening?

I think Gamboa stays true to form and gets off the deck to overwhelm and stop Mtagwa.

All of a sudden Featherweight is becoming a very well stacked division, Molitor has also moved up (I haven't written him off yet), Jhonny Gonzalez will also be putting in more Featherweight battles and finally Celestino Caballero will definately be entering the Featherweight ranks as well. A very exciting year ahead at 126.

also both Marquez and Vazquez are now at 126

[killersheep]

I like Lopez in this one, but I hear ya Sheep - Lueveno is definitely a live dog. I plan to be at this fight. Anyone else? Gamboa versus Mtagtwa too.

How great is it that these two fights are happening?

I think Gamboa stays true to form and gets off the deck to overwhelm and stop Mtagwa.

All of a sudden Featherweight is becoming a very well stacked division, Molitor has also moved up (I haven't written him off yet), Jhonny Gonzalez will also be putting in more Featherweight battles and finally Celestino Caballero will definately be entering the Featherweight ranks as well. A very exciting year ahead at 126.

also both Marquez and Vazquez are now at 126

Rafa looked very sharp in his comeback, but I gotta ask how much can these guys have left? I mean they left so much of themselves in the ring during their trilogy. But yes I do concede they are also there now.

[ElTerribleMorales]

How great is it that these two fights are happening?

I think Gamboa stays true to form and gets off the deck to overwhelm and stop Mtagwa.

All of a sudden Featherweight is becoming a very well stacked division, Molitor has also moved up (I haven't written him off yet), Jhonny Gonzalez will also be putting in more Featherweight battles and finally Celestino Caballero will definately be entering the Featherweight ranks as well. A very exciting year ahead at 126.

also both Marquez and Vazquez are now at 126

Rafa looked very sharp in his comeback, but I gotta ask how much can these guys have left? I mean they left so much of themselves in the ring during their trilogy. But yes I do concede they are also there now.

i agree Vazquez looked the more worn out of the two though

[milmascaras1]

i agree that on paper, juanma should do away with luevano but on paper, wilfredo gomez was also supposed to dispose of salvador sanchez as well. not saying juanma is as good as gomez or luevano as sal sanchez but there are similiarities in this fight. gomez was thought of as this ferocious and he was, but when he went up against the very intelligent, counterpunching sanchez, he was suddenly in a world of trouble. the same could happen here. and don't be deceived by luevano's low KO ration because he does have deceptive KO power as witnessed when he floored mario santiago. this fight is a toss-up imo.

[ElTerribleMorales]

i agree that on paper, juanma should do away with luevano but on paper, wilfredo gomez was also supposed to dispose of salvador sanchez as well. not saying juanma is as good as gomez or luevano as sal sanchez but there are similiarities in this fight. gomez was thought of as this ferocious and he was, but when he went up against the very intelligent, counterpunching sanchez, he was suddenly in a world of trouble. the same could happen here. and don't be deceived by luevano's low KO ration because he does have deceptive KO power as witnessed when he floored mario santiago. this fight is a toss-up imo.

and we've also seen him squeak out a dq win when he was on the verge of being ko'd

[Kirkland Laing]

Hopefully the way Juanma struggled last time out was due to making the weight. If it turns out he doesn't have the same kind of power up at featherweight he could be in for a long night. I'm picking him to win though.

[ElTerribleMorales]

Hopefully the way Juanma struggled last time out was due to making the weight. If it turns out he doesn't have the same kind of power up at featherweight he could be in for a long night. I'm picking him to win though.

i don't really think it was due to making weight, i think it was due more to him relying too much on his power and taking Mtagwa lightly, if he goes in level headed and not full of himself i think he'll win handily against Luevano, if he comes in with the same mentality as last time, he's gonna lose that 0

[Manuel "Chubby" Medina]

Luevano wins unanimous decision.
Luevano out boxes Lopez an makes him look lik shit.

[ElTerribleMorales]

Luevano wins unanimous decision.
Luevano out boxes Lopez an makes him look lik shit.

Luevano got a draw with Santiago, i know Santiago, he's good, but he has nothing on Lopez, if Santiago managed to get a draw, a focused Lopez flattens Luevano, and there will be no controversy like when Concepcion hurt him