By Rey Colon
Juan Manuel Lopez began his career in the junior featherweight division where he became a champion, and recently won a title at 126 pounds. Before the end of the year or in early 2012, he will go up to junior lightweight where he hopes to spend a couple of years before rising to lightweight and then ending his career at 140 pounds. He hopes to retire with a record of winning five championships in five different divisions.
"I started at 122 pounds, I became a champion and made five defenses. Now I'm going to make my third defense at 126 but we are already glimpsing to move up to 130 and that is where I will spend most of my time - and then at the end of my career I will go up to 135. If someone comes along at 140, I have no fear of climbing up. I want four titles but if we take five, then that's even better," Juanma said.
Lopez, 30-0 with 27 knockouts, wants to retire undefeated with multiple titles to earn his place in the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.
"I hope to be a force until I'm 32 or 34 years-old. I would like to retire undefeated; that's the dream of every fighter and I hope that at the end of my career I get to achieve it," Juanma said.