Juanma: "Marquez is The Man, Not Gamboa or Caballero"
By Jhonny Gonzalez
WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lopez is very excited about the biggest fight of his career on September 18 in Las Vegas against Mexican star Rafael Marquez. There will be a lot of history and pride on the line when Lopez steps in there to meet Marquez. He wanted a fight with Marquez since entering the pro ranks after the 2004 Olympics in Athens. There should be a lot of Mexican fans at the MGM Grand who are coming to the event from nearby California. Lopez will have Puerto Rican legend Felix "Tito" Trinidad at his side for the show.
"This is the fight of my life, of my dreams. I've always wanted to fight with Israel Vázquez or Rafael Márquez, it did not matter to me with which of the two. And it is going to be in the MGM Grand, on the day that complies with 200 years of the independence of Mexico, and 11 years since Tito Trinidad beat Oscar De La Hoya. All of that has me excited and crazy to arrive at September 18. Tito is going to be with me at the fight. He told me that he's coming with his wife," Lopez told reporter Jose Sanchez.
Lopez will start his training camp in the next few days. He is in good shape already. He left the gym on Saturday weighing 135-pounds, only nine pounds away from the featherweight division limit of 126-pounds. He doesn't see himself as the champion in the fight. Lopez sees Marquez as the champion holding something that he wants to take. During training camp, he plans to do sparring work with Jonathan Oquendo and Jesus Pastrana and McWilliams Arroyo.
He says Marquez is "the man" to beat in the featherweight division and not rivals Yuriorkis Gamboa or Celestino Caballero.
"Rafa is a great fighter, but I've watched him for a long time and I know him well. He is an orthodox boxer from the old school. I do not have doubt that everything is going to end well. This it is my moment. I feel inspired in the same way as when I fought with Daniel Ponce De Leon," Lopez said.
"I am the champion, but I feel as if I'm going for the title. If I beat Márquez, It's going to me on another level. You can forget Gamboa, or Celestino Caballero."
