by Rey Colon
There is a possibility that an all-Puerto Rican battle between Juan Manuel Lopez, the current WBO featherweight champion, and Wilfredo 'Papito' Vazquez, the WBO super bantamweight king, will happen in the future - according to their mutual promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. As reported earlier in several articles on BoxingScene.com, the two Puerto Rican boxers have been trading words and the tension is rising. Miguel Cotto, a mutual friend of both boxers, is trying to prevent further bad blood by asking both fighters to call a truce.
Arum doesn't see the war of words as a bad thing. He says the two boxers can create a buzz for a future fight down the road.
"I think it can happen. Probably. Vazquez will go up to 126 pounds and Juanma at 130. It may be that fight in the future but at 130," Arum said. "I think it's good [with both boxers trading words]. That kind of controversy is good. They are both champions and this can create an expectation [for the fight]. Look at Floyd Mayweather and the type of vocabulary that he uses and the thousands of fans who follow him. It's fine."