By Luis Sandoval
While it hasn’t been made official, sources say Josesito Lopez and Marcos Maidana will square off April 20th, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, in a fight that is sure to be a war. Both Lopez and Maidana are known for their warrior spirits and for putting on great fights for the fans.
BoxingScene caught up with Josesito Lopez who has been trying to find an opponent the last few weeks. There were talks of a fight with Amir Khan but with Khan announcing he will be fighting in the UK for his next bout against Julio Diaz on April 27, Maidana seems like the likely candidate. And that’s actually okay for Lopez who says he prefers to fight Maidana over Khan.
“You know what, I want to fight Maidana. I really want to fight Khan but Khan, he has too many reasons not to fight me I guess. So I want a tough fighter and Maidana is a tough fighter and at 147” said the self proclaimed Riverside Rocky.
Lopez’s popularity and name grew substantially when he pulled what most considered the upset of the year in 2012 when he defeated Victor Ortiz after fracturing his jaw. The victory not only gave Josesito recognition, but he also ruined plans of having Ortiz face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a super fight.
Lopez plans to bring the same intensity and heart that he did in that fight with Ortiz and is looking forward to testing himself once again.
“It’s going to be the type of fight that [Maidana has] been in. If you’re a boxing fan, you already know what type of fight to expect. It comes down to who really is at the best level. I’m ready to put myself to that test” Lopez would tell BoxingScene.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007 and you can listen to BoxingScene’s official radio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
