By Thomas Gerbasi - When Juan Manuel Lopez touched down this week in Dallas, the site of his Saturday bout with WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia, it was hot. Texas hot. But it wasn’t about to faze the Caguas, Puerto Rico product. The way he sees it, it’s just business as usual.
“It’s really hot and it’s dry here,” said Lopez through translator Ricardo Jimenez. “A little different than Puerto Rico, but I’m used to the heat.”
His comment was literal, but it could also have been referring to his career, as 35 pro fights, two divisional world championships, and 11 world title fights could certainly qualify someone as being used to the heat.
Yet as he enters the fight with the unbeaten Garcia, it’s Lopez who is the underdog, the veteran who has apparently seen too many wars, despite being a couple weeks away from his 30th birthday. Unfortunately that’s the way boxing works these days. You want a fighter to be exciting, but when he is too exciting and loses a couple fights, he’s washed up, cannon fodder for the young guns. It’s an unusual position for “JuanMa” to be in, but he’s also been in the business long enough to accept the fickle nature of the fans and media. [Click Here To Read More]
“It’s really hot and it’s dry here,” said Lopez through translator Ricardo Jimenez. “A little different than Puerto Rico, but I’m used to the heat.”
His comment was literal, but it could also have been referring to his career, as 35 pro fights, two divisional world championships, and 11 world title fights could certainly qualify someone as being used to the heat.
Yet as he enters the fight with the unbeaten Garcia, it’s Lopez who is the underdog, the veteran who has apparently seen too many wars, despite being a couple weeks away from his 30th birthday. Unfortunately that’s the way boxing works these days. You want a fighter to be exciting, but when he is too exciting and loses a couple fights, he’s washed up, cannon fodder for the young guns. It’s an unusual position for “JuanMa” to be in, but he’s also been in the business long enough to accept the fickle nature of the fans and media. [Click Here To Read More]
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