By Cliff Rold

The last time he stepped into a ring in 2009, Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0, 25 KO) ended the night doing everything he could to stay off the floor.  Saturday night, Lopez got back to doing what he’s best at.  Lopez made sure his opponent tasted the same floor he was so reluctant to yield to in October.

In doing so, Lopez found a belt in a second weight division.  After reigning as the WBO’s 122 lb. beltholder since 2008, Lopez’s seventh round stoppage of Steven Luevano (38-2-1, 15 KO) for the WBO Featherweight (126 lb.) reign is now underway.

How long the reign will last will be determined by who stands across the ring from him.  Opening the HBO telecast was Cuban phenom Yuriorkis Gamboa (17-0, 15 KO).  After his sizzling second round knockout of Rogers Mtagwa (26-14-2, 18 KO), the same Mtagwa who pushed Lopez to the edge of defeat in Lopez’s last fight, the prospect of a Gamboa-Lopez showdown becomes more attractive.

Their shared promoter, Top Rank, say the fight will happen.

Eventually.

Let’s go to the report card. 

Grades
Pre: Speed – Luevano B+; Lopez B/Post: Same
Pre: Power – Luevano B-; Lopez A/Post: Same
Pre: Defense – Luevano B; Lopez B/Post: Same
Pre: Intangibles – Luevano B+; Lopez B+/Post: Luevano B+; Lopez A
For full fight recaps, check in at: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=24881

Going into the fight, Luevano could count on his best physical advantage coming from being slightly faster.  The advantage only kept him seriously in the fight for the first two rounds.  In round three, Lopez went from looking to box to looking to punish.  The change began the slow climb to the end. 

In the Mtagwa fight last year, Lopez showed off resilience and fortitude.  Saturday, he showed off the dimensions which will make him special should he ultimately live up to the hopes many have for him.  Luevano did many of the things he needed to do to win on Saturday.  He jabbed, he countered well, he fired the left and lead right hook with snap and found contact, and he punched while Lopez was letting his hands go.

Unfortunately for Luevano, Lopez wasn’t fazed by it.  A worst case scenario against a proven puncher is for the puncher to realize he doesn’t have to worry that what’s coming back can end his night.  Lopez didn’t completely abandon defense, but he was able to make it a secondary factor.  Bobbing and coming forward, Lopez showed off hooks, crosses, and, with emphasis, some beautiful uppercuts.  After a war, some fighters are more cautious the next time out.  Instead for Lopez, he fought the same as a he always does, an impressive display of his mental strength and confidence in his ability.

The final uppercut that set up the knockout was a gem of a blow and Luevano’s inability to take it wasn’t an indictment.  He remains one of the better Featherweights in the world.  Saturday night, he was just in with a better fighter and there’s seldom a game plan for that.

Looking Ahead

Now the scene turns, eventually, to Lopez-Gamboa.  That seems to be the plan at least.  It’s not quite the megafight it could be capable of becoming yet so anyone looking for it next is likely to be disappointed.

What would be equally disappointing is if both men remained unchallenged in the build.  Gamboa owns a claim to one of the WBA’s Featherweight belts.  The other is held with a “super” designation (despite never having unified any titles) by Chris John (43-0-2, 22 KO), the man most recognized as the best Featherweight in the world right now.  It’s a sign of how silly boxing’s sanctioning bodies are that little has been said about what should be a mandated match between Gamboa and John.

If Lopez-Gamboa isn’t next, Gamboa-John ought to be in the mix somewhere.  It’s the sort of quality fighter Gamboa hasn’t faced yet, and it’s hard to tell if he’s ready for that level yet.  While he deserves kudos for the Mtagwa win, it might be a mistake to overrate the win simply because Lopez struggled with the same fighter last year.  Mtagwa is a journeyman.  Sure he’s tough, but he just picked up his 14th loss for a reason. 

Lopez beat a legitimate top ten Featherweight on Saturday.  Gamboa hasn’t really faced one yet.  John would be a massive step up but not one outside the realm of Gamboa’s talents to defeat.

As to Lopez, one hopes the build to a big fight doesn’t mean the same sort of overall soft matchmaking that scarred his reign at 122.  There are tough outs at 126 lbs., including titlists Cristobal Cruz (39-11-2, 23 KO, IBF) and Elio Rojas (21-1, 13 KO, WBC).  Wins in those types of fights would give Lopez the same sort of enhancement he got Saturday.

When the night ended, fans were more impressed than they had been since the last time (his 122 lb. title win against Daniel Ponce De Leon) he faced someone who looked like a serious threat before the fight started.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum was quoted after the fight talking about how Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns was built.  He’d do well to remember that Leonard took a real risk with Ayub Kalule one fight prior; Hearns tangled with serious contender Randy Shields two fights before the big one.

Risk reaps rewards.  Wanting to see Lopez-Gamboa makes perfect sense.  Wanting to see them earn the right to make it bigger in the ring does as well.    

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