By Thomas Gerbasi

Over the course of his five year pro career, WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez has faced plenty of good fighters. Saturday night, he faces a great one in Rafael Marquez.

“These are the kinds of fights I need to prove myself,” said Lopez on a recent media teleconference.

And he’s right.

It’s the rite of passage for any boxer looking to make that step into the rarefied air known as the pound-for-pound rankings, a list many already have “JuanMa” on. But a win over a legitimate force like Marquez, albeit one who, at 35, has seen better days, is the type of stamp needed to push Lopez to the next level in his career and on to fights with the likes of fellow belt holders Yuriorkis Gamboa and Chris John. But given Marquez’ power, pride, and the old adage that the great ones always have one big fight left, a Lopez win is far from a foregone conclusion.

“On paper this looks like my toughest fight,” said Lopez. “The (Rogers) Mtagwa fight didn’t look like it was the toughest but it turned out to be my toughest fight I had. So you can’t really speculate on that. All you can do is prepare yourself very well. You have to be in the best condition to fight this type of fighter.”

In the Mtagwa fight in October of 2009, Lopez’ cloak of invincibility suffered its first tears. Struggling to make the 122 pound weight limit, Lopez threw everything he had at the granite-chinned journeyman early on, building a sizeable – and ultimately insurmountable – lead on the scorecards. But as the bout wore on, Mtagwa chipped away at Lopez’ defensive deficiencies, almost stopping him in the 11th and 12th rounds. It was an epic struggle won by Lopez  via unanimous decision, but the critics, who expect perfection every time out,  wondered if the Rio Piedras native was going to be everything we wanted him to be when he blasted through Jonathan Oquendo, Daniel Ponce De Leon, and Gerry Penalosa.

Undeterred, Lopez added four pounds to his frame and another world championship as well, defeating Steven Luevano (TKO7) and Bernabe Concepcion (TKO2) thus far in 2010, cementing himself as a featherweight to be reckoned with. Nonetheless, the critics still haven’t sailed off into the sunset, pointing to his visit to the canvas against Concepcion as proof that his chin and occasionally porous defense will cost him sooner rather than later. Funny, but they said the same things about Felix Trinidad and Miguel Cotto as well.

And when you talk to Lopez about Trinidad, well let’s say that you had him at “Tito”.

“Tito Trinidad was always my idol, and he still is,” Lopez told me before his win over Ponce De Leon in 2008. “He’s given so many great things to Puerto Rico – great fights, great wins – and without a doubt that’s who I grew up with.  I know of Wilfredo Gomez and other fighters, but for me, it’s Tito Trinidad. I know Miguel Cotto and we’re friendly, but I don’t have those type of conversations with him when it comes to advice and I’m not that close with him.  But Felix Trinidad has talked to me a lot and has given me a lot of advice on how to handle things – fame, money, everything.”

Two years later, nothing has changed, as he talked with the media recently about his relationship with the Puerto Rican legend.

“I’m very humbled when people compare me to Felix Trinidad,” said Lopez. “You know he’s my idol and now my good friend. Any comparison you give me to him inside the ring or outside I will take. I’m happy to take comparisons with me and Felix.”

For Trinidad, who made it over 11 years and to 40-0 before losing for the first time to Bernard Hopkins in 2001, the big leap up to superstar level came six years into his reign as welterweight champion when he headlined Madison Square Garden against Pernell Whitaker. Again, it was the young gun against the past-his-prime great, making it the most brutal form of the traditional passing of the guard. Lopez now stands in Trinidad’s shoes, and adding to the intrigue is that this is another one of those classic Puerto Rico vs Mexico matchups.

“I don’t want to put extra pressure on myself but I understand the tradition of Puerto Rico fighters fighting against boxers from Mexico,” said Lopez. “I think Puerto Ricans expect a lot from me and I hope to give them the best fight that I can. And I know he’s going to give all he can and it’s going to be another great fight for the rivalry.”

It hasn’t all been sunshine and roses for the Boricua battlers over the last few years though, with both Cotto and Ivan Calderon being issued their first pro losses by Mexican fighters Antonio Margarito and Giovanni Segura.

Marquez, winner of two in a row since moving up to featherweight, including a May knockout of longtime rival Israel Vazquez in their fourth meeting, certainly has the firepower to get Lopez’ attention for a ten count. But at an advanced age for a featherweight, against a physically bigger foe with fast hands and power, and without the guiding hand of longtime trainer Nacho Beristain in his corner should a war break out, Marquez may be biting off more than he can chew in what may end up being a farewell bout. Lopez isn’t buying it, choosing instead to focus on Saturday’s matchup as a true crossroads bout between two fighters with a lot to prove.

“Without a doubt I know he’s coming to prove himself and to show that he’s still at the same level as he’s always been,” said Lopez. “I’m out to prove that I’m at the same level that’s he’s at. I think the fans are going to be real excited about this fight and I can’t see how it will not be a good fight. We both have a lot to prove and we’re willing to give up everything in the ring.”

And that’s the beauty of this fight.

Lopez, in spite of his humble demeanor, is all fighter. One look at him doing everything in his power to stay upright under Mtagwa’s assault a little over a year ago is evidence of that, as is his up and down knockdown fest with Concepcion. If you hit him, he’s going to hit you back – harder. Marquez is the same way, and anyone who willingly steps into the fray with Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson (twice), Tim Austin, Silence Mabuza (twice), and Israel Vazquez (four times) is clearly one of a dying breed in this great sport.

Luckily, Lopez is a fine standard bearer for the next generation, one who will meet all comers and actually fight them. So if Saturday night is Marquez’ last stand, we’ll see him in Canastota in five years. And while he’s there, he can clear some room for “JuanMa”.

“I expect the fight to end in a knockout but I don’t expect it to end early,” said Lopez. “I think it will be a long fight and I will end it with a knockout, but late. I think we both have the power to knock each other out. As long as it lasts it’s going to be a war.”

Hallelujah, boxing’s back.