By Cliff Rold
Two men stand above the crowd at Jr. Featherweight.
Only one seems interested in a fight.
Over the last week, unified WBA/IBF titlist Celestino Caballero (32-2, 22 KO) of Panama has made a public spectacle of calling out WBO titlist Juan Manuel Lopez (26-0, 24 KO) of Puerto Rico. From name calling, to threats, to invocations of boricua boxing legends of old, Caballero has left no stone unturned.
Lopez was quoted citing how expensive the sanction fees would be.
Team Caballero offered to cover the fees.
Lopez reportedly stated it would take a million dollars to get to the table.
Such money probably doesn’t exist for the fight right now.
Is this more of the same old song, fighters engaging in smack to build to a showdown, or is this fight just a pipe dream? And why is Lopez seemingly being kept so firmly to safe opponents?
It might seem unfair to ask this soon into the exciting young punchers professional tenure but not when once considers the slate of foes Lopez has been on. In four fights since a scintillating first round knockout of Daniel Ponce De Leon to win the WBO belt, the 26-year old Lopez’s opposition has been favorable to say the least.
The stiffest test came from Gerry Penalosa, and the 36-year old former Jr. Bantamweight champion turned out to be as physically overmatched in the ring as he was on paper. Cesar Figueroa and Oliver Lontchi weren’t good enough to be tests. Sergio Medina didn’t look like he tried. Now, Lopez appears headed to a defense against Rogers Mtagwa (26-12-2, 18 KO).
It’s nice to see a blue collar guy like Mtagwa get a good payday but the outcome is hardly rife with suspense.
Caballero, conversely, would be all about suspense. Freakishly tall for a 122 lb. fighter at 5’11, Caballero stands a full four inches taller than Lopez with the ability to send the show home early or leg it out for the full twelve. Lopez would confront Caballero with activity and the most dangerous puncher he’s seen in years.
In June ( https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=20244 ), the idea was explored on this page of Lopez-Caballero as the new “THE” fight at 122. The ingredients are there for a great fight, right? There’s more to make it worthwhile.
The last two years at Jr. Featherweight have been all about the epic trilogy between Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez. It ended with Vasquez up 2-1, the World title in his possession. Both men headed off for an earned vacation, returning over a year after the 2008 Fight of the Year with enough age and relaxation to find the Featherweight limit more realistic going forward. Vasquez has vacated the crown and announced a move up to Featherweight while Marquez returned at the weight.
After over a decade of fights at 122 involving names like Barrera, Morales, McKinney, Jones, and Larios, Vasquez-Marquez may well have been the end of an era. It doesn’t have to be the end of tradition.
Jr. Featherweight has never lacked for action fights. From the days of Wilfredo Gomez-Carlos Zarate and Gomez-Lupe Pintor through the days of Daniel Zaragoza and Jeff Fenech, the best fighting the best has felt like the norm. That doesn’t mean it always was, but the feeling is enough. This fight, for this moment, would allow Lopez or Caballero to earn the right to lay their names against the division’s elite.
So what’s the problem? Obviously there is money. In this case, it’s not so much the money available today as much as the money available with a little forethought. Lopez’s team at Top Rank has indicated they would like to build their charge towards a showdown with sensational Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa (15-0, 13 KO). Given rising exposure for Lopez and a Gamboa career covered almost entirely by television, it could come with a healthy payday.
There is also the Top Rank position. Depending on the source, the revenue stream that is Welterweight Miguel Cotto won’t last forever. Puerto Rican fans love boxing and they are showing the love to Lopez. He is well positioned to be the next island idol.
There is also the possibility, in considering Caballero, of a conclusion reached tantamount to ‘there are easier ways to make a living.’ With Caballero there are multiple downsides.
No one could say Lopez can’t beat, or should think he can’t beat, Caballero. It would be a fairly even fight but Caballero has been stopped before, been outboxed before, and almost came up short in his last outing versus Jeffrey Mathebula. So what, stylistically, might be the reason not to take the fight?
The most prominent is a possible stinker. Caballero is capable of letting loose with a wild knockout; he did it in winning both belts around his waist. However, he has also been in some painfully dull outings. His long legs and jab can get him to victory when other options aren’t coming through. A fight where Lopez lost after floundering around and being tied up all night helps no one. A fight where he won after being made to look limited or confused often wouldn’t be worth much either.
Could the fight just as easily be a classic? Yes, but the possibility of style clash is higher than in other contests.
Lopez is in a position the 33-year old Caballero has to envy. At 26, he has a budding fan base, HBO support, and time to wait for danger in a less physically challenging package. It’s not what we like to see but if someday Lopez-Gamboa, or Lopez-Chris John, or any numbers of other competitive and exciting bouts take place, it will be a slim minority who remembers Lopez ducking Caballero.
For now, Caballero will continue to call for a showdown and he should. He’s a good fighter and he’s earned a bigger stage to find out just how good. And who knows? Things can always change. Lopez, Caballero, and their teams can stop lobbing verbal rockets, get serious, and make a fight.
It could happen.
It’s probably not worth betting on.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
