By Ryan Burton
Former two-division champion Juan Manuel Lopez resurrected his career with a 2nd round stoppage of Daniel Ponce De Leon in March. Lopez hit the deck early in the second round but was able to rebound and catch and finish off his opponent moments later.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican moved up to the super featherweight division for the fight and said that he feels a lot better at the higher weight.
"I feel a lot better at 130 pounds. I don't have any problems making this weight. I feel a lot stronger," Lopez told BoxingScene.com.
His opponent on Saturday night is Francisco "El Bandido" Vargas (19-0-1) who looks to make the transition from prospect to contender with a victory. Lopez though has other plans and feels that his level of opposition as a professional will lead him to victory over the former Mexican Olympian.
"He is a good fighter. He is an Olympian but I feel that my experience as a professional will be the difference in the fight," Lopez confidently stated.
In the main event Canelo Alvarez faces Erislandy Lara in a fight that many feel outside of his fight against Floyd Mayweather, will be the toughest of Canelo's career. Juanma feels that the key for Lara is to get through the first four rounds. Overall Lopez feels that the fight is close to a 50-50 proposition.
"Lara is a very smart fighter. If he gets past the first four rounds then he has a good chance to win. Canelo is very strong so I think that if Lara gets through the beginning of the fight he has a good chance," said Lopez.
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